The Wraith of the Shinigami
by HistorianoftheKais
Summary: One cannot cheat the God of Death. However, the Shinigami is a reasonably fair deity as Konoha soon discovers. Naruto personally learns what happens when one gains a divine gift.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Here's the deal, you don't sue me on some mistaken belief that I own Naruto and I won't have to laugh at you as you make an idiot of yourself.

In the depths of Yomi the Shinigami sat on his obsidian black throne and thought about a serious manner. Earlier today he had been summoned by a mortal so that the Dead Demon Consuming Seal could be used to stop the Kyuubi from attacking the man's village. All and all a fairly simple task of a god of his stature and it was a great break from his usual monotony. However, things had not gone as the Shinigami had expected.

That heretic Minato Namikaze had dared to try and alter the Dead Demon Consuming Seal so that the Kyuubi would be sealed into his newborn son instead the Kyuubi being dragged into Yomi. For that crime the Shinigami had completely obliterated Minato's soul instead of sending the man's soul on to be reincarnated like he normally did for those who summoned him. What made the man's crime all the more unforgivable was the fact that the mortal had been afraid that he wouldn't be able to pull all of the Kyuubi's soul out of the demon's body to be devoured before his life gave out. If that mortal had read the contract that the Shinigami had created the man would have realized that after summoning the death god the mortal only directed who the Shinigami would take. The mortal's power did not enter into the equation because everything the Shinigami did was done under his own power.

Still, Minato's crime carried consequences beyond those that the destroyed man could answer for. Naruto Namikaze, for gods and goddess only called a mortal by their true name, had been exposed to a tremendous amount of the Shinigami's divine energy. In fact the little babe had been exposed to so much energy that had the Shinigami not acted the poor child would have died. Mortals might view death as a horrifying and uncaring end to life, but that is not the case. The Shinigami, as the god of death, is extremely fair and just as in death one cannot lie or deceive. Allowing a newborn to die before his time like that would have been crime against justice.

However, even though Naruto Namikaze's life had been saved the Shinigami was still left with quite the quandary. By saving Naruto's life the boy had became the Shinigami's responsibility according to the divine laws regarding divine/mortal interactions. For a few minutes the Shinigami just sat on his throne and thought about what he should do for the boy. The death god thought about giving boy a new bloodline limit like most other kami did for mortals that they were patrons of. Exactly what this bloodline would entail the Shinigami had no clue, but he knew that whatever he graced Naruto with it would be a bloodline that would show that Naruto was his ward.

All plans of that nature had to be put on hold when the Shinigami sensed a great danger towards his ward. Thanks to his divine abilities the lord of Yomi knew exactly what was threatening Naruto. It seemed that several members of Konoha's high council were demanding the newborn's death. Actually they were demanding the death of the 'Kyuubi' which they moronically believed was Naruto. This was something that the Shinigami wouldn't allow. It looked like he would have to show the stupid mortals their place.

* * *

In Konoha's council chambers all members of the council were assembled and a large group was demanding Naruto's death to slay the Kyuubi. Before Sarutobi could say anything in defense of Naruto the room became icy cold. Then everyone was hit by what felt like an ocean of killing intent that caused everyone to become weak in the knees. Only Naruto seemed immune to the cold and the killing intent as he softly coo. Finally everything was topped off by the Shinigami appearing in the center of the chamber in his grim glory.

The Shinigami looked at everyone in the chamber one by one and then he said, "**_Listen and listen well foolish mortals. Naruto Namikaze, son of Minato Namikaze your beloved Yondaime, who rests in his crib in this room does not carry the Kyuubi. As is stated in the ancient pact I have claimed the demon's soul as my own property. For his crime of attempting to alter the seal, your Yondaime's soul has been destroyed. So it shall be with any of you here in Konoha who try to attack the boy over events that happen tonight._**"

On seeing that the council members were starting to get over their shock the Shinigami continued, "**_So strange that you foolish mortals would attack a perfectly innocent boy because a demon attacked. If you truly wanted punish people connected with attack then look to the Uchiha. It was after all a member of their clan who tricked the Kyuubi into attacking your village_**." The Shinigami felt a twinge of retreat over revealing this fact as he was sure the foolish people of Konoha would probably try to kill every last Uchiha that they could given how their emotions were at the moment.

However, the Shinigami didn't feel too guilty over revealing this fact. The Sharingan, being the only bloodline given by a devil, was a mistake that the kami had allowed to exist on the earth for too long. Madara Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan and its 'eternal' form was proof enough that the clan needed to be wiped out. Besides even if the people of Konoha didn't kill every last Uchiha in the village in a fit of grief and rage it would only be a few years before the fates activated their plan to drive the clan to extinction.

The Shinigami then floated over to where Naruto was laying. Everyone watched in silent surprise as the Shinigami raised his hand over Naruto. To their surprise black lighting started crackle and strike the Shinigami's hand and Naruto. In a voice that terrified all of the onlookers the Shinigami then said, "**_Grow strong Naruto Namikaze. One day you shall be like a tiger amid a flock of sheep._**"

Turning to face Sarutobi the Shinigami said as a black sealed scroll appeared on the Hokage's desk, "K**_eep this safe for Naruto. When the boy activates my gift, that scroll will tell him how to use my gift. And if I was you mortal, I wouldn't attempt to open the scroll. I have set it so that if anyone other then Naruto opens the scroll that person will instantly drop dead._**" With that said the Shinigami disappeared leaving a shell shocked council behind him.

The quiet that been caused by the Shinigami's arrival was suddenly broken by one of the council members plunging a kunai into Fugaku Uchiha's throat and shouting, "Death to the Traitors!" Suddenly the highly charged emotions of almost everyone in the council chambers erupted into a bonfire of hatred with that act. Due to the Kyuubi's attack almost everyone in Konoha was suffering from grief and rage. This grief and rage caused the people of Konoha to turn on the closest target that they could: the Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi could hardly believe how things had gone and what was going on right now. Just minutes ago he had been using every ounce of his skill to keep the people from trying to kill Naruto. Now due to the Shinigami's unexpected visit he was sitting almost completely alone in Konoha's council chambers. Even inside the chambers Sarutobi could hear the sounds of the enraged shinobi and civilian mob heading towards the Uchiha sector with genocide on its mind. It torn at Sarutobi's heart to just sit there, but he knew that there was no way that he could hope to reason with that mob in its current state. All Sarutobi could do was pray that at least some of the Uchihas managed to escape the mob's clutches. For surely, Sarutobi reasoned, it was completely unacceptable to kill innocent people for the crimes of one person.

After letting out a sigh Sarutobi looked down at Naruto and the old leader couldn't help but be amazed that Naruto was able to remain calm throughout everything that had happened. Sarutobi then gently picked up Naruto's swaddled form and held the little boy close to his heart. Even with all that was going on, Sarutobi couldn't help being afraid for Naruto. The old leader's original plan of keeping Naruto safe from Minato's enemies by giving Naruto his mother's name of Uzumaki was now useless. Everyone in Konoha now knew, or would know by morning through the grapevine, that Naruto was Minato's son so not giving Naruto his proper last name to protect the boy was useless.

While slowly waving a finger in front of Naruto to amuse the little guy Sarutobi said, "Naruto Namikaze, Maelstrom Wind/Wave or Maelstrom Chaos. Given how your life has been so far little guy I don't think that there has ever been a more appropriately named child."

* * *

Six year old Naruto Namikaze was standing in the kitchen of his apartment preparing his lunch. Naruto had his own apartment due to a decision of Konoha's council and Naruto knew exactly why thanks to Grandpa Sarutobi. Many of the villagers hadn't liked the fact that the son of the Yondaime had been living in the orphanage. At the same time, a fight broke out every time someone tried to adopt Naruto because of various factions wanting the Yondaime's son living with a family that would raise him to support their stances. Finally when Naruto was 5 years old Sarutobi had managed to work out a compromise.

Thus Naruto lived alone in a fairly nice apartment with the matron of the orphanage visiting him two to three times a week to make sure that he was alright. Naruto was living in the apartment instead of the Namikaze estate because the apartment was more secure then the estate at the moment. Once Naruto show a predetermined level of skill he would be allowed to live in his clan's estate. Sarutobi's compromise got Naruto out of the orphanage which suited everyone and at the same time insured that Naruto wasn't forced into one faction or another. Keeping the Yondaime's son out of a rival faction's clutches was far preferable to all of the various factions then having Naruto raised by one faction or another.

Naruto hated the fact that everyone seemed to be so worried about his security, but he could understand why they were worried. One time when Sarutobi had brought Naruto to the Hokage's office Naruto had managed to glance at a document on Sarutobi's desk when Sarutobi had gone to the bathroom. Needless to say it had been quite a shock to Naruto back then when he found out that the document was a report on Iwa's 80th attempt on his life that had just been intercepted. When Sarutobi had returned from the bathroom he had to comfort a very distressed five year old.

Shaking his head, Naruto returned his focus to making his sandwich. Naruto knew that he would need to eat his meals if he was to grow big and strong so he could complete his goal in life. Naruto's goal was very simple and strait forward goal: surpass his father. He was tired of people of the village referring to him as 'the Yondaime's son' or 'Respectable Heir'. Also, Naruto had had it with Iwa constantly trying to kill because he was the son of Konoha's Yellow Flash. If people were going to so him respect or try to kill him, Naruto had vowed to himself, it because of what HE had done; not who his father was.

Just as Naruto was about to bite into his sandwich he heard a muffled sound coming from one of the walls. It sounded like someone had either fallen or dropped something heavy. Naruto instantly became alert and was afraid that the sound was coming from a would-be assassin. However, Naruto started to disregard the idea of an assassin when he remembered that the wall that the sound had come from was from one of adjoining apartments. Any person trying to assassinate him, or so Naruto reasoned, would just come in through the window or the front door since it would be quicker.

With his curiosity piqued, Naruto abandoned his untouched sandwich and headed over to the apartment where the sound had come from. Naruto's childish curiosity only increased when he got to the door of his neighboring apartment and found out that the door was unlocked. After gently pushing the door open Naruto walked into the apartment and then blinked. There was a girl sitting shocked on the apartment's kitchen floor covered in flour, milk, and eggs with a large bowel on the floor by her feet. Quickly Naruto called out in a sincere voice, "Hey there! Is there anything I can do to help?"

Koyuki Kazahana was not happy with how her 9 year old life was going at the moment. A month ago she had watched her own uncle killed her father and then witnessed her beloved home being torched as she was carried to safety. She was now an orphan with a bounty on her head, which oh by the way had been placed on her by her own uncle, and was living in a foreign country. In an attempt to brighten her mood Koyuki had tried to make a treat that her mother had always made for her. Tried was the important word since she was wearing the ingredients all over her.

Just when Koyuki thought that things couldn't get any worse she heard an innocent and concerned voice calling out to her. Instantly Koyuki whipped her head around and spotted Naruto standing in her apartment. She then said in a nervous manner, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

Naruto then cheerfully said, "Hello there. My name's Naruto Namikaze. I live in the apartment to the right of yours and I heard you fall down. Sorry, but I was worried you were hurt." When Naruto saw that Koyuki wasn't responding he said in a more concerned manner, "Are you okay?" Then Naruto stuck out his hand and said, "Let's be friends."

All Koyuki could do at the moment was blink her eyes in confusion. Here she was covered in cooking ingredients and this little boy was offering to be her friend? Koyuki then quickly realized that she couldn't ever really recall having a friend. Back in Snow Country her various play mates were too subservient to her to ever really be considered 'friends'. Giving Naruto a small smile, the first to adorn her face since her father's death, Koyuki said, "Sure Naruto. My name is Koyuki Kazahana." Maybe, Koyuki mused, all she really needed to cheer herself up was a friend.

* * *

Kumo's ambassador was standing on the roof of one of Konoha's many buildings looking towards the Hyuga Compound. The ambassador had been order by the Sandaime Raikage to steal one daughters of the main family so that Kumo could acquire the Byakugan bloodline. If the ambassador actually was the good little toady that the Raikage thought he was then he would be down trying to steal one of those girls. However, the ambassador had no intention to follow his order. It was plainly obvious that this mission was supposed to be a suicide run because there was no way that he could hope to get in, nab the kid, and get back to Kumo without getting captured and killed.

That, the ambassador thought with a sneer, was probably what the old bastard wanted in the first place. Have the ambassador killed by an enraged father and then as the 'injured' party demand the body of said father. Well, there was no way that the ambassador would allow himself to be sacrificed to help an old SOB hold on to power. To insure that the Raikage's plans wouldn't go as planed the ambassador had purposely left his orders in his vest pocket so that if he was killed the Raikage would be exposed for what he was. Also, the ambassador had no intention of completing his mission.

Stealthily sneaking away, the Kumo ninja headed off towards a specific apartment complex. Ever since he had gotten this mission the ambassador had known that the only way he could continue to live was to become a missing ninja. As he planed to join another village after this whole fiasco was over, the ambassador had decided to modify his mission. Instead of kidnapping a Hyuga, he was planning on going after the Namikaze. Konoha might keep the little prince under lock and key, but that was a lock that he could easily pick. Iwa would offer him a place of honor for bringing the Yellow Flash's child to them.

* * *

Naruto and Koyuki were both lying on Naruto's living room floor. Ever since the duo had met all those months ago they had been close friends. This wasn't very surprising since both of them could understand the situation that the other was in and they could relate to each other. Thanks to Naruto and his cheerful attitude, Koyuki was able to come out of her shell and pretty much return to the happy girl she used to be. Of course Koyuki wasn't carefree and naïve like she used to be before her father's death, but that was to be expected.

Right now the duo wasn't playing a game and instead they were studying. To be more specific Koyuki was studying and Naruto was helping her out by giving her review questions from her textbook. As the two of them had hung out together Koyuki slowly got the idea of becoming a ninja herself. So she got permission and started attending classes when the academy started in the fall. Naruto had wanted to join the academy as well, but he knew that he was still too young to join.

"What is the Shodai Hokage's actual name?"

"Hashirama Senju"

"How many official ninja ranks are there in Konoha?"

"5, Genin, Chunin, Special Jonin, Jonin, and Hokage"

"Why aren't hunter ninjas or ANBU considered to be a separate ninja rank?"

"Because they are jobs that ninja's hold and ninjas of all different ranks work perform those two jobs."

"The five main elements used in elemental jutsu are?"

"Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning"

"What is the lowest life form that a ninja can expect to encounter?"

"Fangirls/Fanboys, now stick to the questions that are in the textbook Naruto!"

This happy scene was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the front door being kicked opened. Both preteens turned their head and their eyes widened when they saw an unknown ninja standing in the doorway wearing a Kumo head protector. The foreign ninja looked at Naruto, then glanced at Koyuki, returned his gaze to Naruto, and started to chuckle. "Well, well, well," the ambassador said, "I came for the Flashes' brat and it seems I get a princess for a bonus."

Instantly Naruto pulled out a kunai while Koyuki pulled out the Kazahana family tanto. The sight of the duo preparing to defend themselves from the ninja just made their would-be kidnapper smile. Did these brats really think that they could hope to defend themselves against a fully trained ninja? In a 'who cares' manner the ambassador flung half a dozen shuriken at the duo. Neither Iwa nor Dotou cared if Naruto or Koyuki were brought in alive or dead.

Making a split second decision, Naruto tackled Koyuki and took the shuriken in his back. The Kumo ninja then grabbed Naruto lifted the boy into the air and the said, "So you would offer your own life to protect your comrade. A noble sentiment young Namikaze, you might have grown to be an excellent ninja. However, we shall now never know." With that said the Kumo ninja swung his other hand that was holding a kunai towards Naruto.

Just as Koyuki was about to stab the attacker in an attempt to free Naruto, she saw Naruto grab the hand with the kunai by the wrist. Koyuki watched as her and Naruto's attacker's face changed from mild surprise to horror. "W-what are you doing brat? Why can't I move my limbs?"

Naruto then called out in an angry voice, "I won't let you hurt my friend!" Koyuki, even though she mentally filed that comment of Naruto's away for later, was now focusing her eyes on Naruto's hand as he gripped his attacker's wrist. Naruto's hand started to glow with a grayish-black light that shocked Koyuki, but that wasn't the most surprising thing going on. When Koyuki turned to look at the attacker's she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man's face was rapidly aging like something out of a horror film. This scene ended when the now mummified attacker fell to the ground.

* * *

Sarutobi was sitting on a bench in Konoha's hospital with Koyuki resting her head on his lap. As Sarutobi was gently running his hand through Koyuki's hair in a soothing manner he heard the sound of a door opening up. He turned his head towards the door and saw the medic ninja standing there apparently waiting for permission to speak. In a tired voice the old Hokage softly said, "Report doctor."

The medic ninja then calmly said, "The Yondaime's son is in perfect health Lord Hokage. This is completely at odds with what Princess Kazahana stated when she was question. Also, it is even more puzzling because the Respectable Heir's shirt has six cuts in to that are freshly stained with his blood. I just don't know what to say Lord Hokage everything points the Yodaime's son being wounded, but he isn't."

After Sarutobi nodded his head to show that he understood the doctor continued on. "As confusing as the Respectable Heir's condition is, it isn't nearly as confusing as the attacker's corpse. Dental records and fingerprint records all stated that the attacker was Kumo's ambassador. But I don't have the corpse of a thirty year old ninja on my examination table; I have the corpse of a very old man who obviously died due to advanced age."

Naturally Sarutobi understood the medic ninja's confusion. There wasn't any kind of jutsu in existence that could do what apparently had happened. And even if such a jutsu existed, there was no way that Naruto could have gotten his hands on it. Suddenly Sarutobi remembered what the Shinigami had said almost seven years ago. Without realizing it Sarutobi whispered out loud, "He shall be like a tiger amid a flock of sheep." On seeing the perplexed look on the doctor's face Sarutobi quickly said, "Those were the words that the Shinigami used when he spoke about Naruto on that day."

Something in Sarutobi's mind suddenly clicked and he said, "Use the bloodline limit detection jutsu Naruto. The Shinigami said that he had given Naruto a gift. What if this 'gift' is actually a bloodline? That would explain how Naruto could do what he did." Immediately the doctor nodded her head and she left to go perform the test. After she left Sarutobi sighed and said, "I honestly don't know whether I want what happened to be a bloodline limit or something else."

* * *

Naruto sat at his desk in his repaired apartment and he was staring at the black sealed scroll on his desk. When he had woken up in the hospital he had been told that he had killed Kumo's ambassador. Even more shocking to Naruto was the fact that he had a bloodline limit and that he had used that limit to kill his attacker. At first Naruto had been worried about the political fallout over the ambassador's death. Even at his age Naruto was well aware of how dangerous political machinations could be.

Luckily for Naruto's peace of mind, Sarutobi had quickly explained what had happened. Apparently the Raikage had been aware of what exactly had happened that night and had sent a letter demanding the death of Hiashi Hyuga over the man killing Kumo's ambassador. That letter, along with the ambassador's recovered and indisputable orders had damned the Sandaime Raikage. In fact Sarutobi stated that the Sadaime Raikage had been deposed, blinded, and was now rotting in the Lightning Daimyo's dungeons.

After all of that had been cleared up, Sarutobi had handed Naruto the scroll currently sitting on Naruto's desk. All Sarutobi had said about the scroll was that it was left to Naruto by the Shinigami himself and that only Naruto could open the scroll. Needless to say, Naruto had been very surprised and even a bit frightened at the idea of the Shinigami leaving a message for him. Like all the other kids in the village Naruto knew that his father had summoned the Shinigami to take the Kyuubi to the afterlife. What if, Naruto wondered nervously, the Shinigami had demanded something from him as well for sealing the Kyuubi?

Regaining his courage, Naruto reached over, broke the seal on the scroll, and started to read it. The scroll was actually a letter to Naruto from the Shinigami himself and it said:

_Naruto Namikaze,_

_I am the Shinigami and if you are reading this then that mortal leader of your village has given this scroll to you like I instructed. As you may or may not be aware, your father Minato Namikaze attempted to alter the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Kyuubi into you because of his mistaken belief that it was impossible to use my summoning to completely defeat the Kyuubi. Of course, I naturally collected the Kyuubi's soul and destroyed your father's soul for his heresy._

_I do not tell you this mortal to make you angry at me, but rather I do this so that you might understand what is going on. Due to what happened on that night you are my ward under celestial law. This means that I am, at least in part, responsible for you and how your life goes. To handle this duty I have granted you a bloodline limit the likes of which haven't been seen in the mortal realm before._

_Your bloodline makes you a hunter Naruto Namikaze. Your senses will be more advanced then other mortals, but not as advanced as some mortals who have bloodlines that deal with the senses. The art that mortals call Genjutsu will come naturally to you and your body will have superior healing abilities. I have crafted your superior senses, Genjutsu and healing abilities so that they complement the primary purpose of your bloodline. _

_The primary purpose of your bloodline is to extract and process the vitality of all living creatures. As your recent kill shows, you can use this ability to kill your enemies. With the refined vitality that you collect you will be able to increase your healing abilities exponentially, go without eating, and extend your mortal life-span. Also, I have given you and your descendents the ability to transfer vitality that you have processed to other mortals. _

_Even as young as you are Naruto Namikaze, you will be able to see the great power that I have granted to you. As I am an extremely powerful kami it is only fitting that a bloodline gifted by me be powerful as well. However know this mortal; I am always watching you and I will kill you if you abuse your bloodline. To insure that you know what abusing your bloodline is I will tell you this: the conscience is a divine gift given to all mortals who listen to it. Always remember your place mortal and make sure that your descendents know their place as well._

Naruto read and re-read that letter three times before he set it down on the desk. He then raised his hands and looked at them. They seemed to be perfectly normal hands which just didn't seem right to Naruto at moment. Surely hands that had such a dangerous power within them would look well, would look different then an ordinary seven year's hands. However, no matter how hard he looked Naruto couldn't find any signs on his hands that they had the power that he knew they had.

After a minute or so of looking at his hands, Naruto stopped looking at his hands and he went off to find a pair of gloves. Until he was confident that he wouldn't accidentally activate his bloodline's ability, Naruto swore, he would keep his hands covered. Naruto didn't like the idea of keeping his hands covered especially indoors and during the hot summer months that were going to start once winter was over. However, Naruto didn't like the idea of accidentally turning someone into a mummy even more.

Once he hand the gloves on, Naruto promised himself that he would talk to Grandpa Sarutobi in the morning. Maybe Grandpa Sarutobi would be able to get him some small animals like rabbits or cats to practice his bloodline on. Also Naruto promised himself that he would check up on Koyuki. Witnessing two assassination attempts couldn't be very good for her after all Naruto thought. Naruto would have gone and checked on his this very moment, but he knew that it was currently passed Koyuki's bedtime. Actually it was passed his bedtime as well Naruto realized and so he headed to his bathroom to get ready for bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Even my month old niece has the intelligence to know that I don't own Naruto.

About two years had passed since the Kumo incident and it was time for the Ninja Academy to start up again after summer recess. Currently Naruto and Koyuki were walking to the academy together. Today was Naruto's first day at the academy and he was ready to start. He would be one of the younger students in his class because the cutoff date for grades was October 15th, but he didn't care. Most of the first year was theory and very basic training and Naruto knew he had those down.

Much to Naruto's annoyance, a good deal of the villagers tended to stare at him and Koyuki. Even after all these years seeing the son of the Yondaime and a genuine princess walking together seemed to be something that just had to be noticed. Naruto might have come to partially accept that the people of Konoha would pay him a certain level of respect due to who his father was, but he still hated it. Still, Naruto knew he would have to put up with it until he had managed to prove himself as a ninja.

Koyuki saw the annoyance in Naruto's eyes and she just gave him a sad smile. If Naruto thought that his situation was bad now, how would he handle the fangirls that he would naturally develop due to his station and his skills? The princess then felt a small twinge of guilt when she realized that Naruto's outfit, which she had picked out for him, was probably only going to compound his fangirl problem. Currently Naruto was wearing a black form fitting t-shirt and brown cargo pants. Hey, Naruto had asked her to help him pick out his wardrobe, how could she refuse?

Once the two of them got to the Ninja Academy Koyuki gave Naruto a hug and she headed off to her new classroom. As a first year student, Naruto headed towards the gymnasium where he and the rest of the first years were to be given a welcome to the school lecture. It didn't take Naruto very long to get to the gymnasium and find a spot to sit on one of the benches. He then calmly watched as the partially filled benches were filled with hopeful students.

As he was watching, Naruto played a game of trying to guess who among the new students would drop out of the academy by the end of the month. A huge number of the children in the village wanted to be ninjas and that was understandable considering how important ninjas were to the village. However, most kids tended to quickly drop out once they realized the work needed in being a ninja. By the Academy's second year the breakdown of the remaining students tended to be about 50 from a ninja clan, 40 from civilian families who had one or two family members already in the ninja core, and finally a determined 10 who had no family history of being a ninja.

Finally the school bell rang and the principal of the academy walked into the gymnasium. The principal then took the stage and said, "Hello there students. My Name is Professor Kesuke Miyagi and I am the principal of this fine academic establishment. Over a five year period you children will learn the basics of what being a ninja is and the skills that a ninja needs to survive. Remember that being a ninja is a very serious business and that by coming here you or at least your parents have carefully considered what being a ninja will mean for you."

"There will be those among you here today that will eventually find that being a ninja is not your calling. For those of you who do drop out of the ninja program I will say this: there is no shame in realizing that you have made a mistake. For those of you who don't drop out you will not tease or give those who drop out a hard time. Any student who does will be put on notice and expelled from the program if they keep on teasing. Also any student who uses what is taught here to bully others will be expelled and denied any chance of readmission. This is an academy to teach the future soldiers of Konoha, to a place for bullies."

"Now then I would like to talk more about the educational opportunities here. As I said earlier you all will learn the basics of being a ninja and the skills you will need. Those of you who are from establish ninja clans will probably receive extra training from your family. That extra training is perfectly fine, but you must understand that training with your clan is no excuse for not completing the work that is required by the academy. I want to assure all of you who are not from a ninja clan that you do not need to worry about failing behind your fellow students. Here at the academy we start at the very basics and build up from there. For those you who are still worried, I am proud to announce that the school library and the gym are open after classes are over for your independent study."

"No doubt many of you right now are getting tired of hearing me speak. While my speech might be ending in just a moment, you all will have to get used to the idea that you will have a lot of lectures. Farewell my new students and I pray that your studies will be fruitful. Dismissed."

* * *

The first year at the Ninja Academy flew by for Naruto even though he was bored out of his mind most of the time. Oh he realized that most of his fellow students didn't have as much knowledge as he did on many of the subjects covered that year. Still, it had been very boring for Naruto to sit through lectures on subjects that he had learned years ago. Although when Naruto considered that the only other options he had were to either drop from the program or to get an advance placement test which might cause the appearance of favoritism, he much preferred to tough it out.

Currently Naruto was in class half listening to his teacher give a lecture on bloodlines. It was the middle of his second year at the academy and in Naruto's opinion his second year was shaping up to be even worse then his first year. It wasn't the material covered in class that was making the year so bad for Naruto. While Naruto already knew most of the material, it was now reaching a level that interesting to hear about even in a review. No, Naruto's problem was something far worse then boredom: fangirls.

What did he do to deserve the curse of fangirls was a question that was always very prominently on Naruto's mind. It seemed that just because of who his father was and the fact that he tended to be the head of the class karma had equalized his 'good luck' with the plague of fangirls. There were only three things about the fangirls that Naruto could find acceptable. First was the fact that his classmate Neji Hyuga unintentionally kept the most rabid of the fangirls away because that type preferred to go after the brooding boy rather then the friendly achiever. Next there was the fact that every time he was with Koyuki the fangirls stayed away. And finally when all else failed, fangirls made useful living targets to practice genjutsu on.

Speaking of genjutsu, Naruto's skill in that art was quite advanced for his age. Even though Naruto didn't focus all of his free study time on genjutsu he did practice it a lot. Besides, there was a distinct statisfaction of being able to use such an overlooked part of the ninja arts to beat the braggarts in the class with. Also there was the fact that genjutsu was a part of his bloodline that Naruto could practice without attracting too much attention.

Genjutsu along with Naruto's improved healing rate was the facet of his bloodline, which was still unnamed, that the people of Konoha knew about. Naruto didn't like the fact that everyone and their brother knew he had a bloodline, but at least only Grandpa Sarutobi, Koyuki, his doctor, and the village jonin knew what his bloodline was truly capable of. It wasn't that he was frightened or ashamed of his bloodline's main powers; he just didn't want his future enemies to know about those powers yet. After all deception was a very useful tool for a ninja.

Naruto returned his full attention to the class when he heard the teacher end his lecture and ask the students if they had any questions. Immediately one of the aspiring kunoichi, not a fangirl as Naruto knew that Tenten was very serious about her studies, raised her hand. Upon receiving a nod from the teacher Tenten said, "Sir I was looking in the school library the other day and something confused me. Our textbooks list the Sharingan bloodline as 'effectively extinct', but a book in the library written before the Kyuubi incident lists the Sharingan bloodline as an active Konoha bloodline. Were the holders of this bloodline killed by the Kyuubi?"

Everyone in the class then started to pay attention as they were curious about what their teacher would say. The teacher then sighed and said, "No Tenten the Uchiha Clan, the family that had the Sharingan bloodline, were not wiped out by the Kyuubi. Instead the Uchiha Clan was massacred by the people of Konoha." Instantly the entire class was murmuring to each other. They had learned about Kiri's bloodline purges last week and almost none of the students could believe that something like that had happened in Konoha.

After letting his students murmur for a bit the teacher silenced them and continued on explaining. "The fact that the village massacred an entire clan might be hard for you all to accept right now, but you must understand why this tragedy happened. Immediately after the Kyuubi's assault people were hurting and almost everyone in the village was seeking an outlet to vent their frustration on. The people then found out that it was a member of the Uchiha Clan who caused the Kyuubi to attack the village. That caused a large mob to form with vengeance on its mind and, well, the rest is history."

"When the massacre was over, an investigation was launched to examine the Uchiha Clan archives. The information that was discovered in the Uchiha archives was troubling to say the least. In order to activate the final level of the Sharingan bloodline, which was known as the Mangekyou Sharingan, a person had to kill their best friend. However, use of the Mangekyou Sharingan caused the few members who had attained it slowly go blind. One Uchiha, whose name was Madara Uchiha, discovered that by stealing his own brother's eyes he could escape his blindness."

One of the other students in the back then asked, "Teacher, why was such a vile clan let into Konoha in the first place. How could anyone think that such a clan could be trusted, I mean they murdered their best friends for power and they were willing to steal each others' eyes?" A murmur of agreement rose up from most of the students on this subject.

The teacher then just shook his head and said, "Life is not that simple my students. You have to understand that before the Kyuubi assault the Uchiha Clan was a highly respected ninja clan. They served as the police force of Konoha. No one suspected that they had such a terrible secret. There is a lesson that you all can learn from this: never just accept that something is true about a situation because it appears true at first glance."

This whole conversation was really interesting to Naruto. However, there was one thing about the teacher's lecture that was bugging him. So once he got the chance Naruto calmly asked, "Sir, you mentioned that Konoha massacred the Uchiha Clan. But, you never said if every Uchiha was killed in the massacre. Did the village kill every Uchiha or did some escape?"

While nodding his head the teacher said, "Very good question Naruto. That is exactly the kind of question that ninjas need to ask themselves when they are in the field. In answer to your question Naruto, we honestly don't know if some of the Uchiha escaped. When the bodies of the Uchiha were cataloged the body count was eight short. However, when we crosschecked the bodies to the clan register it turned out that the eight missing people were all children 10 years and younger. It is entirely possible that those eight Uchihas are still alive, but it is far more likely that they either died from injuries sustained in the massacre and/or were eaten by wild animals." Even though everyone accepted that Naruto filed the information away in his mind. Something inside of him was telling him that it might be important some day.

* * *

Naruto was in the men's locker room at one of the more prestigious onsens in Konoha. Last week Koyuki and her class had graduated from the academy and to celebrate the occasion Naruto had gotten her a ticket for a private bath at this facility. To Naruto's surprise Koyuki had asked him to join her and her small group at the onsen. Sure Naruto and Koyuki did like to use the onsens in their apartment building together, but Naruto had honestly been expecting Koyuki to use his gift for some bonding time with her friends or her teammates.

Once Naruto had all of his clothes stored in the basket that was provided, he made sure that the towel around his waist was secured, grabbed another towel to use to dry off, and then walked down to the reserved room. When Naruto got to the reserved onsen room he slid the bamboo and paper door open and then went into the room. Naruto then quickly looked around the room and spotted Koyuki, her new instructor Inochi Yamanaka, and Inoichi's wife Hikari Yamanaka already in the onsen. Like Naruto, the other three had towels wrapped around themselves for modesty.

With a smile on his face, Naruto walked over to the open corner next to Koyuki and carefully got in. Once he was sitting down in the warm water Naruto let out a sigh of contentment as he felt his muscles start to relax. After a moment of silence Hikari pleasantly said, "Thank you for inviting my husband and I to join you here Koyuki. It's not often that the two of us get the chance to go to one of these places together." This honest complement caused a small blush to appear on Koyuki's face.

Quickly getting her blush under control, actually Koyuki covered it with a minor genjutsu but only Naruto was paying enough attention to pick up on it, Koyuki said, "Thank you Mrs. Yamanaka. I like spending time in onsens and I really enjoy talking with my friends while I'm in an onsen. Hopefully we all will be able to be friends or at least good acquaintances."

Hikari then nodded her head and said, "You're absolutely right Koyuki. Spending time at the onsens is wonderful, but it is the conversation and the time spent with friends that really make the experience so enjoyable." Mrs. Yamanaka then turned to face Naruto and said, "I must admit Naruto that I was a little surprised that Koyuki invited you to join us. No offense meant dear boy, its just most boys your age tend to be far too immature for mixed company onsen usage. It's all that vagabond Jiraiya and his dirty books' fault that the morals and social expectations in the town have gone down hill. How a good ninja could sink so low I'll never understand."

Koyuki then politely cut Mrs. Yamanaka off by saying, "Very true Mrs. Yamanaka. That was exactly why I didn't invite my teammates because I knew they couldn't behave themselves. Naruto on the other hand treats women with respect and tends to act by the older social code. You won't find him shopping at Happy's book store or at one of the ever moving peepholes that develop at the open-air baths."

Inoichi then calmly said, "As much as I don't want to admit it Koyuki you're right. The other two members of the team, while they might be very good ninjas for green genin, have much to be desired when it comes to certain habits of theirs." Then as if he sensed a slight hostility at that fact, Inoichi glanced over to Naruto and then said, "You don't have to worry Koyuki. I'll make sure that those two stay in line during our missions." Even though Inoichi had been talking to Koyuki, the message had really been for Naruto.

Hikari then turned to look at Naruto again and she said, "Oh dear, oh dear. I'm so sorry Naruto that we've been ignoring you in our conversation. It's just so impolite to ignore someone in a place like this."

Naruto just let out a small smile and said, "It's perfectly alright Mrs. Yamanaka. You and Koyuki were having a conversation and I just had nothing to contribute to it. No ill will was intended and the conversation would have eventually changed to something that I could add to."

Mrs. Yamanaka smiled when she heard that and she said, "You are a dear Naruto." She then looked at Koyuki and said, "I can see that you've definitely trained him well Koyuki. Several of my friends at the ladies' card club would just love to get suggestions from you. There are just too many young rascals in my dear Ino's class and I know that my friends would be just delighted if their sons were half as behaved as Naruto is." As Mrs. Yamanaka continued to drone on and on Inoichi just gave the younger pair a sheepish smile.

The next hour continued in much the same manner, Mrs. Yamanaka would dominate the conversation while the other three would offer short responses. About forty minutes after Naruto arrived; the Yamanakas had to leave to check up on something at home. Once they were gone Koyuki turned to Naruto and said, "Sorry about that Naruto. I didn't know that Mrs. Yamanaka would have such an uh _exuberant_ personality."

Shrugging his shoulders Naruto just said, "This is the first time that you or I have ever had an in depth conversation with Mrs. Yamanaka. Except for how she monopolized the conversation and drove it she seems to be a fairly decent person. My only real problem with her is some of the company she apparently keeps. Did you notice that during the conversation Mrs. Yamanaka stated that four of the biggest gossips in Konoha are her close friends? Considering the fact that the last one of those four gossips is known for distorting what she hears, it almost a sure bet that there will be a rumor going about Konoha that you and I are having a steamy secret romance."

Koyuki let out a small laugh and replied between giggles, "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto, your information is out of date. You and me have a steamy secret romance was last month's rumor of choice for the no good busybodies. This month's rumor is that I'm about to overthrow my uncle and you're coming along to be my new king/boy toy." The princess kunoichi then shifted to the other side of the onsen so that she and Naruto were across from each other. Once she had settled in her new seat Koyuki casually said, "It a curse that's attached to our station. Busybodies love juicy scandalous stories to tell each other and since you and I are from a high station stories about us are juicier even if there untrue."

Naruto then gave a short snort and stated, "That might be true Koyuki. However, it doesn't change the fact that those rumors can be extremely irritating. I'm just glad that none of those busybodies knows about what my bloodline can truly do. The tall tales that would likely generate from that would just be ridiculous."

That earned Naruto an understanding nod from Koyuki. When she had first witnessed Naruto's bloodline all those years ago during the Kumo assassination attempt she had been frightened by it. Her fear however had disappeared the next day after that incident when Naruto had come over to check up on her. Naruto's innocent concern for her had completely removed all of the fear and uneasiness that Koyuki had because of his bloodline within moments. Although the princess never admitted it, there was just something about Naruto that could always calm her down when she was troubled.

* * *

Sarutobi looked down the kitchen table at the assortment of friends gathered and he jovially said, "I must say this is quite the honor Naruto. I've awarded Chunin and Jonin ranks many times as Hokage, but it is so rare that I get invited to a celebration for someone becoming a Chunin." The other people at the table, Naruto, Koyuki, The Yamanakas, the other two members of Koyuki's genin squad, and Kakashi all smiled at the old leader's words.

Last month Inoichi had allowed his team to go to the Chunin Exams that were being held in Kumo. Koyuki, who had taken second place in the final tournament against Yugito Nii, was one of the four genin who had been promoted and she was the only one from Konoha. When Naruto had heard about Koyuki's promotion he had whipped together this congratulation party for when she arrived home.

Thanks to Sarutobi's praise everyone's attention was drawn to Naruto. Upon seeing everyone's attention on him Naruto warmly said, "You're family to me and Koyuki Grandpa Sarutobi. I'd have to be a pretty big jerk to not invite you here since this is a gathering of Koyuki's family and friends." This honest replied earned Naruto a round of cheers from the rest of the adults at the table.

Kakashi then said while doing his patented eye smile, "I want to thank you Naruto for allowing me to come over. It seems like only yesterday that Koyuki was just a scared little princess hiding under the blankets of the sleigh as I got her away from that castle. She may still be a princess like she was all those years ago, but she'll not scared anymore and she's definitely not little either."

At that moment one of Koyuki's teammates snorted and said, "You're right about Koyuki not being little anymore Kakashi. The only way you could say that she's still little is if you were to compare her to Tsunade and her measurements." As soon as he said that remark, Koyuki's teammate's face started to pale. Everyone at the table then watched as the genin's face became ghost white and the boy quickly fainted. His unconscious slumped over body then started to twitch like he was having a nightmare.

Sarutobi, Kakashi, and Inoichi immediately sent a semi-accusing glance over to Naruto. In a casual manner Naruto shrugged his shoulders and said, "What? I have specifically stated before that my house is a perv-free zone. No porn, peeping, or provocative comments about any ladies are allowed unless the offending person wants to try out one of my new genjutsus. Any of these actions directed against a friend of mine earns the offender an especially nasty genjutsu." This earned Naruto the vocal approval of the girls at the table.

Once things had calmed down a bit Kakashi said, "You're defiantly coming along splendidly with your genjutsu Naruto. Considering how far you've come in it, along with the fact that you haven't neglected your ninjutsu or your taijutsu, it's surprising that you haven't applied for early graduation. Your time definitely seems to be wasted with you being of 4th year student instead of being a genin."

In a calm manner Naruto replied, "Applying for early graduation is completely out of the question. If I did that the villagers would all talk about how the 'Yondaime's Son' is showing his father's talent by finishing the academy early. At the same time there would be resentment many of newer ninjas who would be my companions. They would most likely feel that I used my father's name to advance while they sweated to earn their positions. Over all, it's just easier for everyone if I stay in the academy and graduate with my class next year."

* * *

Principal Miyagi was working in his office when he heard a polite knock on his door. Looking up from the papers on his desk the old teacher pleasantly said, "Please come in." The door then opened and Naruto walked into the office. In his usual wise and pleasant voice Miyagi said, "Ah young Namikaze. It's good to see you here on time. Please, sit down."

Naruto walked over to bench in Miyagi's office and sat down. Then Naruto calmly said, "Principal Miyagi, why was I asked to come to your office? If it's so you can ask me to take the graduation exam early my answer is as always no."

Miyagi shook his head and said, "Not this time Naruto, although the thought had crossed my mind. As much as I hate to admit it, the Academy isn't helping you to further your abilities. If I may ask, is that why you haven't been applying yourself as hard on the tests this year as you did the last four years? Your teachers have been coming to me and complaining about how you are holding back in class. Why is it that you seem to be trying to get the number two position in class Naruto?"

After letting out a small sigh Naruto started to explain what he was doing. "Principal Miyagi, it is a well known fact that only completely sure team line up upon graduation is the Rookie of the Year, the top kunoichi or the top guy in the class as was the case two years ago, and the so called 'dead last'. This year the top kunoichi is Tenten while Rock Lee due to his illness is practically assured to be the 'dead last'. If I was to fully apply myself and take the number one slot in the class those two would be my teammates. Now I have no problem at the thought of working with those two for at least a year or two out of the Academy. However, there is a reason why I am doing what I am doing."

Naruto's face then got more somber as he continued on, "I'm sure that you remember the incident that occurred 5 months ago Principal Miyagi involving Neji Hyuga's father." Miyagi nodded his head as he remembered the incident or rather the scandal in question. Hizashi Hyuga had been the bodyguard of one of the Hyuga Elders and the two had been trapped in a cave for days due to an attack. The elder in question had used the cage bird seal to kill Hizashi so that the elder could prolong the duo's scant food supplies. When this fact had came up during the investigation two things had happened. One the elder in question had been publicly put to death by fire jutsu and two, the Hyugas accepted the fact that they needed to know more then just their famed Juken.

Once Naruto saw that Miyagi had mentally gone over the whole incident he continued on. "Due to that incident Principal Miyagi, Neji Hyuga's personality is becoming darker. I have noticed that out all the students in the class Lee and to a lesser extent Tenten are able to return Neji to the boy he was before this incident. Since Neji was originally the second best student in the class I have been correcting my work so that it is just slightly below his. Thus I am trying to get him to become the Rookie of the Year so that he will have teammates who will keep him grounded."

For a few moments Miyagi just sat where in was in silence carefully considering what Naruto had just told him. The teachers probably wouldn't have caught on to the fact that Naruto had pointed out simply because it was impossible to catch all the nuances of all the students in class. Also, what Naruto was saying did make perfect sense to Miyagi. After considering everything for a few moments Miyagi said, "Your reason is perfectly acceptable Naruto. You may continue to hold back if you so wish so that Neji Hyuga can gain the teammates to help him. Only next time Naruto, talk to a teacher before you handle a problem like this in the future."

Naruto got up, gave Miyagi a respectful bow, and then said, "Understood Principal Miyagi. I honestly wasn't planning on doing something like this again. May I please return to class now?" Miyagi nodded his head and motioned for Naruto to leave.

After Naruto had left the office Miyagi smiled and said to himself, "You defiantly are your father's son Naruto Namikaze. I can still remember when I was just a teacher here and your father was a student. Both you and he show great concern for your classmates. That's the hardest lesson for you kids here to learn at the Academy."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't write fluent Japanese, I can't draw, and I have never made any business investments in Japanese companies. Therefore there is no way that I could own Naruto.

Naruto walked into his old academy classroom dressed in his 'casual' ninja outfit. The only difference between Naruto's 'casual' ninja outfit and his regular ninja outfit was the number of weapons/traps that he was packing. Once Naruto was inside the classroom he immediately headed to his old seat and sat down. Today was the day that he and the rest of the recently graduated ninjas would be assigned their genin teams.

About twenty minutes after Naruto walked into the room, the class's old homeroom teacher arrived. The old teacher looked at the assembled genin and started to give a speech. Naruto ignored the speech because he had already heard this speech, or at least a variant of it, from Koyuki. According to Koyuki the purpose of the farewell speech was to help prepare the students for the teamwork test that the Jonin teachers would be giving out. The speech was in effect the (hopefully) last lesson that the academy teachers would give to their students.

Once the speech was over the teacher began to call out teams. Naruto calmly listened to the teams waiting to hear who his teammates would be. After a few minutes the teacher got to Naruto's team, "-Team 10 will be Naruto Namikaze, Mimi Yamano, Gendo Sakakibara with Ebisu as the Jonin instructor." When Naruto heard who his teammates were he had to use all of his self-control to keep from cussing. Out of all of the people in his class that he could have had for teammates he had to get those two.

Gendo Sakakibara had a subzero personality and didn't have a caring or compassionate bone in his body. That boy didn't interact with his peers even though Naruto and others in the class had tried to be his friends a while ago. Also, Gendo seemed to hate anyone who his saw as more powerful then him even though it was practically impossible to see the signs of hate on Gendo. It had been whispered among some of the students that Gendo had gone before the school's psychiatric council to see whether or not his mentality made him too dangerous to be in the ninja program. Of course that was only a stupid schoolyard rumor, but the fact was that Gendo was not a person that someone else could get along with.

On the other hand Mimi Yamano was, well, she could be the poster girl for what many men seemed to view kunoichi as. Mimi was very 'talented' and she had a decent head for poisons. Given the right training Mimi could become a very capable black widow kunoichi. However, Mimi was hampered by the fact that she was a very obsessed fangirl who was focused on Neji. This fangirl obsession along with her snobbish personality cause her to refuse to use her emerging seduction techniques, which were her only useful abilities outside of the academy abilities, on anyone accept Neji. Whenever Neji rejected Mimi's attempts at his affections, which was almost every day, she would be a royal pain in the ass to anyone near her.

Naruto was quickly trying to figure out why he had those two as his teammates. The answer as to why they were his teammates was quite obvious to Naruto. Both Gendo and Mimi had very high grades in class. Coupled with the fact that Gendo and Mimi's skills leaned towards infiltration it wasn't that far a stretch for the three of them to be assigned to the same genin cell. Many of the older ninjas probably expected that the members of Team 10 would become fast friends or at least have the professionalism to work with each other until they became friends.

On paper, Team 10 looked like a solid green genin team that would do wonderfully once the three genin started working together. However, the way things look on paper and how things actually are can be two totally different things. This team could become a very good team, but Naruto figured that Team 10 flourishing probably wouldn't happen. Still, Naruto was willing to try and was determined that it wouldn't be because of him that Team 10 floundered.

Ebisu walked into the classroom just as Naruto stopped analyzing his teammates. The man pushed his glasses up his nose and then said, "Team 10 come with me." Naruto calmly got out of his seat and headed over to Ebisu only stopping for a moment to give his former teacher a polite nod. Mimi jumped out of her seat, cheerfully walked down the rows of desks, paused to wink at Neji, and then sulked as she joined up with her teammates because Neji didn't acknowledge her wink. Gendo got up and coldly walked over to where his team was.

Once all the members of Team 10 were together, Ebisu calmly led them to a private alcove and said, "Alright then you three. My name is Ebisu, the elite Jonin tutor. I have tutored many Chunins and older genins so that they could advance in rank. You three may be my first full time genin pupils, but I can assure you that I know exactly what I am doing. Now then I want each of you to say your names, at least one thing that you like, and what your dream is. This will help you work better as a team in the future."

Mimi was the first to answer Ebisu's question. In a cheerful manner she said, "I'll go first. My name is Mimi Yamano. I like flowers, poisons, and Neji Huyga. My dream for the future is to get Neji to become my boyfriend." When Ebisu heard Mimi's dream of the future a small sweat drop started to form on the back of his head. Even though it was expected that 2 out of every 3 graduating kunoichis would be more focused on love then being a ninja at this stage in their career Ebisu had been hoping to not get one of those types of girls.

After Mimi had answered Ebisu's questions Naruto decided to take his turn. In a calm, but still very friendly, manner Naruto said, "As you know my name is Naruto Namikaze. I like refining my ninja skills and spending time with my best friend Koyuki. My dream for the future is to step out of my father's shadow and be respected by the villagers for my own accomplishments." Ebisu gave a small almost unnoticeable nod when he heard Naruto's dream. It always was a pain to have to teach self-important ninjas so Ebisu was glad that Naruto wasn't one of those types.

Gendo stood where he was and didn't volunteer anything at first. However, after a few minutes passed and nothing had happened Gendo realized that Ebisu wouldn't continue until he had answered the questions. With a small scowl on his face Gendo said, "My name is Gendo Sakakibara. My likes and my dream for the future are both irrelevant to my being on this team." It was obvious that Gendo was not going to give out any more information about himself to the rest of the team so Ebisu decided to just nod his head and move on.

In an authoritative tone Ebisu said, "Now then Team 10. Before I start to train you three or we take on any missions you three must prove that you truly are worthy of your newly acquired genin ranks. Therefore tomorrow at 9 o'clock sharp I will give you three a field test to see whether or not you are really ready to be genin. If you three fail my test you will either be kicked out of the ninja program or sent back to the Academy if you are lucky."

* * *

Koyuki stood on the roof of her and Naruto's apartment complex in a bathrobe with a fluffy towel in her hand looking at the rooftop hut that contained the complex's four onsens. Earlier today Koyuki had noticed Naruto coming home in a bad mood as she had headed out to do her grocery shopping. Once she had finished her shopping, Koyuki had gone to Naruto's apartment to ask him what was bugging him. Since Naruto hadn't been in his apartment and he hadn't been at one of his usual training grounds Koyuki figured that he might have come up here to relax.

Sensing a single person in the northern onsen, Koyuki headed over and gently opened the door to that bath. When princess turned ninja opened the door she saw that her suspisions were correct as Naruto was currently sitting in the onsen with his back to her. Koyuki quietly closed the sliding door, took off her bathrobe, and joined Naruto in the bath. Since it was only Naruto in the onsen with her Koyuki didn't bother to grab a towel for modesty. Back in Snow Country unisex communal bathing areas were much more common then in Fire Country and even the royal family had frequently used the 'common' bathing areas. The only reason why Koyuki even bothered with a towel for modesty at all when she was at the public bathhouses and onsens was because of the number of males in Fire Country who couldn't control their hormones.

Once Koyuki was in the onsen she walked over to where Naruto was and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. The princess wasn't afraid of Naruto's training kicking in and him attacking her because she knew that with his advanced senses he already knew that she was here. In fact Koyuki knew that it was because of Naruto's enhanced senses that he hadn't reacted to her joining him in the onsen. Naruto had already known that she was there and he hadn't reacted because he trusted her.

Very gently, Koyuki slowly began to massage Naruto's shoulders. Like all of Konoha's kunoichi Koyuki knew the basics of how to give a massage. As the minutes progressed Koyuki worked all of the knots out of Naruto's back leaving him more relaxed then he had been. Once Naruto was relaxed Koyuki ended the massage and said, "What's the matter Naruto? You're usually not this upset."

Naruto turned around and while looking Koyuki in the eye said, "It's my team Koyuki. I just don't see how we will be able to pass Ebisu's test unless it is ridiculously easy. Gendo is a loner who doesn't care about or show an understanding about the concept of teamwork. As for Mimi, she's one of _those _kunoichi. After Eibsu left us I tried to get my teammates to go out for lunch so that we could have some team bonding. You know, try and get them ready for whatever they of teamwork test is to be issued. However, neither of them cared about getting a bite to eat or about getting to know each other as teammates."

Koyuki lovingly wrapped her arms around Naruto and gently said, "I understand Naruto. You're worried that your teammates won't be able to work together so that you three can pass. To be honest, I was afraid that my teammates and I wouldn't be able to pass our teamwork test. Hopefully your team will be able to pass your teacher's test. After all, most teams don't look like they'll pass the teamwork test until they are actually tested." Secretly though Koyuki was worried about Naruto and his team. As a kunoichi, she had access to several methods of persuading her teammates to work together that Naurto just didn't have access to.

Luckily for Koyuki, her words had just the effect that she wanted them to have on Naruto. A small confident smile appeared on Naruto's face and then he said, "You're right Koyuki. My team could very well pass the teamwork test even if it doesn't look like it will at first glance. After all, one has to look hard to see things as they really are and not how they appear to be." Naruto and Koyuki then spent half an hour chit chatting and relaxing as they usually did whenever they were in the onsen.

After a while Naruto left the onsen to go prepare his dinner. He had offered to make some dinner for Koyuki, but she told him that she wasn't hungry. Once Naruto left the room Koyuki just smiled and said, "You truly are something else Naruto. I don't know of any person who is as skilled as you are compared to your peers and is also concerned about your peers as well." All too often Koyuki had encountered 'geniuses' who were the absolute worst kind of people to work with.

Koyuki stopped thinking about that and then she looked down at her body. Thanks to constant training, eating right, and a little bit of genetic luck Koyuki was growing into a very beautiful woman. Some of her crasser male peers had claimed that she was 'prime real-estate any man lucky enough to stake a claim' when they thought she wasn't within earshot. Naturally that comment had enraged Koyuki and the other nearby kunoichi that had heard it. The doctors still weren't entirely sure if that particular man and his friends would be able to breed or not after the beating they had received from Konoha's Kunoichi Association.

Even though the crass comments were aggravating, there was one benefit in Koyuki's mind to her having her current to die for figure. Over the past several months Koyuki had seen a small, but growing look of desire in Naruto's eyes whenever they spent time in the baths. At first Koyuki had been afraid that Naruto was going to turn into a hormonal idiot like her teammate and that his previous good behavior was because he hadn't been as physically mature as she had thought. To Koyuki's joy Naruto had not turned into a hormonal idiot and he had remained as mature as ever. The look in Naruto's eyes simply showed that, at least unconsciously, he recognized that she was a very attractive young woman.

Ever since Koyuki had realized these things about Naruto she had begun to plan. Naruto was her closest and dearest friend. Koyuki's friendships among the other kunoichi all paled when compared to her friendship with Naruto. Over time Koyuki had discovered that she wanted more out her relationship with Naruto then simple friendship and so she set about to win Naruto's heart. Unlike other young women, Koyuki planed to win Naruto by small actions that would cause Naruto to start thinking of her as a lover/close friend as opposed to a sister figure/close friend. It was slow and at times aggravating work, but Koyuki was already seeing signs that Naruto was making that mental shift in thinking without even realizing it.

* * *

Team 10 was at their assigned training field standing in a line facing Ebisu wondering what sort of test they would be given. Ebisu pulled out two rolled up scrolls and said, "This is your test Team 10. Written on one of these scrolls are directions to a location and written on the other scroll is a list of what is at that location. You must get BOTH scrolls from me and make it back to the academy before noon or you fail. You may use whatever force necessary to get the scrolls from me. The test starts NOW!"

As soon as Ebisu said that the test had begun all of his would be students bolted off to hide. Naruto had quickly hidden among the branches of a nearby tree and was using genjutsu to make it harder for his location to be discovered. From his vantage point Naruto was able to spot Gendo hiding behind a rock and Mimi hiding in some bushes. Almost immediately Naruto tried to think of how he could get Gendo and Mimi to work with him to complete this test.

It was obvious to Naruto that Mimi would be the easiest to convince to work with him. All he had to do was wait for her to try to get the scrolls on her own and then help her out when she started to fail. Thus he sat down and carefully observed Mimi to see when she would make her move.

About 10 minutes after the test had started Mimi made her move for the scrolls. Mimi might have been a fangirl, but Naruto was glad to see that she had some common sense. She had obviously realized that there was no way she could charm Ebisu into giving her the scrolls and was trying to sneak up on Ebisu using the bushes to help screen her movements. As soon as Mimi came to the edge of the bushes she threw a pair of shuriken at Ebisu's legs.

Ebisu was a Jonin for a reason and he had detected Mimi's approach long ago. In a calm manner he jumped over the pair of shuriken and turned in mid-air to look at Mimi. "Good attempt Mimi," Ebisu called out in his instructor tone. "However, you need to learn to mask your approach better." After Ebisu performed a short series of handsigns he said, "Ninja Art: Hell Viewing."

Right as Ebisu announced the name of the juts Naruto made his move. Thanks to his bloodline and his extensive studies of Genjutsu Naruto had created several unique genjutsus. From his hiding spot Naruto stretched out his left hand, moved his ring and middle ringers away from each other, and then crossed both pairs of fingers on that hand. In a very calm manner Naruto then said, "Ninja Art: Bodhisattva." This particular genjutsu of Naruto's allowed him to communicate with a person who was trapped in a genjutsu.

Upon entering Ebisu's genjutsu, avatar Naruto immediately noticed that he was down on the ground right next to Mimi. Since the surroundings weren't some sort of hellish plain, which Naruto had been expecting to be the case since Ebisu had only used the weakest of the hell genjutsus, Naruto started to look for Mimi's trouble. When avatar Naruto spotted Neji lying on the ground dead he almost smacked his head. Of course to a fangirl like Mimi the sight of her crush/obsession dead would be debilitating. Avatar Naruto then walked over to where Mimi 'was' and slapped her in the face. While normally Naruto wouldn't strike a girl unless it was in a spar, he needed to shock Mimi back to her senses so that he could talk to her.

Just like Naruto had hoped, Mimi snapped out of her horror induced stupor. She then glared at Naruto and said, "How can you Namikaze? Neji's over there dead and you slap me? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Avatar Naruto calmly stood in front of Mimi and let her vent for a second. However, he quickly cut her off since he didn't want both of them to be vulnerable more then they had to be. "Think Mimi, just think. Neji is on Team 9 and their training ground is on the other side of the village. Why on earth would Neji's body here if he's with his team? Don't say that Neji's here because he wanted to watch you Mimi, he's too duty-bound to shirk his responsibilities to go watch you."

The gears in Mimi's head started to spin as she thought about what Naruto had just told her. While the more fangirlish part of her mind wanted to say that Neji would come her to watch her because of True Love, the more rational part of her mind seriously considered what Naruto had told her. After all, Neji's duty-bound personally was one of the reasons why she loved him! So if Neji couldn't be here, why was his dead body in front of her?

Mimi then turned her head to look at Naruto's avatar form. Unlike the normal Naruto, his avatar form in the Ninja Art: Bodhisattva was slightly blurry and had a sort of 'ghostly' spirit quality to it. Naruto's image started to frighten Mimi, but then Naruto spoke. "Don't worry Mimi everything will be alright. I am Naruto or rather I am Naruto's consciousness projected into the genjutsu that you are trapped via my own genjutsu. If it helps you, think of me as an echo of Naruto that has been sent to help you out."

Although Mimi had never heard of such a jutsu, even if it seemed to have been inspired by the Yamanaka clan jutsus, she accepted that she had been told the truth. At the Academy, no one was more skilled or knowledgeable about genjutsu then Naruto. In fact Mimi and many others had heard rumors that even Kurenai had trouble with some of Naruto's genjutsus. Thus she could easily believe that what Naruto was telling her was the truth. However, before Mimi could do anything to dispel the genjutsu it started to collapse apparently on its own. She turned to look at avatar Naruto hoping that he would know what was going and was scared when she saw the confused look on his face.

* * *

Ebisu stood a few feet away from Mimi's unconscious form, but still close enough to carefully observe her. He had noticed the slight change in the feel of the genjutsu he had cast on Mimi and had to work are to repress a smirk. Before Ebisu had taken this assignment to teach team 10 he had been given a COMPLETE briefing on his three potential students. Included in that briefing was a description of all the jutsus the students knew that anyone in the ninja force was aware of and thus he knew about Naruto's Ninja Art: Bodhisattva.

The fact that Naruto was currently using that jutsu of his to try and help Mimi out was a major plus to Ebisu. It meant that Naruto had already figured out the real reason behind this test. Normally the genins only figured out that the key was teamwork when they were beaten by the Jonin instructor. Now all he had to do was wait for Mimi and Gendo to show an acceptable level of teamwork and this team would be official.

Suddenly Ebisu's danger sense went off and he turned around to see a dozen kunai flying at him. Normally Ebisu would just doge away from the kunai, but if he dodged then the kunai would hit Mimi's unconscious body. For a second Ebisu was frozen in horror sense he had never imagined that anyone would so recklessly endanger their teammate so. Luckily for both him and Mimi, Ebisu was able to get over his shock and he quickly grabbed Mimi carrying her to safety.

Due to the fact that Ebisu was too busy carrying Mimi away to maintain the genjutsu, Mimi started to wake up. Mimi blinked her eyes and said, "Instructer Ebisu what's going on? I was talking with Naruto, at least I think it was Naruto, and then everything started to become fuzzy."

While Ebisu was glad to know that Naruto had been helping Mimi out just like he had believed, it didn't temper the rage that was building inside of him. Ebisu might appear at times to be a snobbish person and he knew it, but there were certain things that could send him into a rage. Endangering a teammate was at the top of the list of things that could make Ebisu froth like a mad dog. In a loud and cold tone Ebisu announced, "This. Test. Is. OVER!"

* * *

Sarutobi sat at his desk with a stack of reports in front of him that he had been reading. The reports were psychological reports, personal stats, and Ebisu's report on the members of the now defunct team 10. When Sarutobi had read Gendo's psychological report the old leader felt a rage start to grow. Gendo had been the one who launched the kunai attack that had endangered Mimi. Apparently Gendo had been planning on using Ebisu's protectiveness to keep the instructor from avoiding the attack. Sarutobi's real problem with the little punk came with the fact that Gendo had said that had Mimi died because of Ebisu moving out of the way it would have been 'of no real consequence'.

Why hadn't the psychologist at the Academy reported Gendo's mental condition? A person who couldn't connect to their emotions at all and thus didn't care about what they did or how it affected others should not have been allowed into the ninja program. Ever since Orochimaru's defection, Sarutobi had insisted that the ninja applicants be monitored constantly so that new Orochimarus couldn't arise. Until today Sarutobi had never questioned the efficiency of the Academy monitors. Well those guys better have reserved a hospital room because Sarutobi was planning on sending them on an all expense pounded stay at the hospital.

Sarutobi turned his attention back to the reports in front of him and tried to figure out what he should do with Naruto, Mimi, and Gendo. Well actually he was trying to decide what to do with Naruto and Mimi, Gendo already had a one-way ticket to the psychiatric ward. Given Mimi's stats and her comments during the after test investigation Sarutobi thought it would be a good idea to send Mimi back to the Academy. She had a lot of potential and with her new wisdom she should be able to unlock more of that potential.

Every time Sarutobi tried to figure out what he should do about Naruto he got a headache. Naruto had all of the necessary skills and the right mentality to be a ninja. Truth was Naruto had been ready to graduate two years ago. Miyagi had actually set a private request to Sarutobi asking the old leader to find some way to get Naruto onto the ninja force. The reason for this rather unexpected request was that Miyagi didn't want to hold Naruto back because the boy already knew everything that was taught at the academy.

Twirling a bit in the chair to face the bookshelf, Sarutobi pulled out a volume of Konoha's rules and regulations that covered ninja admittance. After twenty minutes of searching Sarutobi found just the regulation that he needed to get Naruto into the ninja corps. The Nidaime had decreed that if a potential genin show that he was ready to become a ninja while the rest of that genin's team were not ready, then that genin could become a genin on the reserve list. Sure being a genin on the reserve list wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but it was a whole lot better then going back to the academy.

Genin on the reserve list were just that: reserves. They had no teams, no assigned teachers, and they could only take D rank missions. A genin normally went on the reserve list if they had been out of commission for several months because of injuries or they had been demoted. Whenever an established genin team lost a member because of death or promotion and reassignment, a reserve genin was assigned to the team. There were never more then two reserve genins at any given time because as soon a third genin appeared on the list a new genin team would be formed.

Just as Sarutobi was about to get up to leave his office so he could talk to Naruto, the old leader noticed a report amid his documents that he hadn't checked out yet. Since it could be something important about team 10 Sarutobi forced himself to pick up the report and read it. To Sarutobi's surprise the report wasn't actually a report, but rather it was a formal request by the head of the hunter ninja division to have Naruto transferred to the hunter ninja division.

In Konoha, the various ninja jobs were broken down into three major groups. The first group was made up of the ANBU, the interrogators, and the hunter ninjas. Next there were the support ninjas like medic ninjas, academy teachers, and the town guards. Finally there was the majority of the ninja corps who handled various mission requests from the village's customers. When a student graduated from the academy they were automatically placed into the pool of ninjas available to carry out a client's mission. The other two groups gained knew members by transfer requests either from the ninjas themselves or from the divisional head.

Normally these two groups usually only made a request for someone to be transferred to them when the ninja in question was a Jonin or a Chunin. However, it wasn't too uncommon for a divisional head in one of the two groups to ask for a genin who showed exceptional promise in that particular field. Given Naruto's abilities, particularly the abilities of the Shinikage bloodline, it wasn't too surprising that the hunter corps wanted him. Apparently the head of the hunter corps wanted Naruto in the corps bad enough that he didn't what rank the boy was.

Sarutobi carefully considered what Naruto could expect if he was put in the hunter corps. As a genin Naruto would only be assigned to 'trash detail' as the hunters called the hunting down of former academy students who had gone bad and missing genin. It was an important job because rouges from those two groups could cause a lot of trouble, but it wasn't a 'glorious' as hunting A,B, or even C rank missing ninjas.

The old leader looked at the options that were available to Naruto and he couldn't make up his mind about what to do. Should he send Naruto back to the academy which he thought was rather pointless? Put Naruto on the reserve list and leave the boy basically in limbo for at least six months hopefully? Or should he stick Naruto into the hunter corps where he would have to stay for a minimum of 2 years? Finally Sarutobi decided to tell Naruto about the options and let Naruto decided where to go. It was the boy's career after all so he should have some say in it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Any and all claims that the writer of the piece of fanfiction owns Naruto have been proven beyond a doubt to be complete BS

Naruto sitting in front of his desk looking at the papers that Ebisu had handed him an hour ago. According to Ebisu, Naruto's performance during the test along with his academy grades had prompted this unexpected situation. Ebisu had also assured Naruto that this was not just some political jockeying intended to show off the Namikaze heir. When Ebisu had asked why Naruto thought that such a thing could be occurring he simply said, "Observe a single council session. Most of the people on the council would pole dance on hot coals if they thought it might help their political position."

After Ebisu had visited the bathroom to remove his lunch because of the image of Kaharu pole dancing, he had pulled out Naruto's Shinobi rulebook and show the clause that was being used. Ebisu had also pointed out that the clause had been used in the past so while Naruto would be in a rare situation within the ninja force, it wouldn't be a unique position. With that explained, Ebisu had left Naruto alone vowing to find a way to pay Naruto back for that horrible image. Of course Naruto wasn't really worried that Ebisu would succeed. A genjutsu master, or someone trying to gain that rank, needed to have a very good imagination and be able to pay attention to details.

Returning to the matter at hand, Naruto looked at the three forms trying to decide what he should do. Going back to the Academy left a very bitter taste in Naruto's mouth. Also, the though of the pitying glances that the villagers were practically guaranteed to give him because he was the "Yondaime's Son" who had been sent back because his teammate was a mistake made him ill. However, if he went back to the academy he would be able to socialize with his new potential teammates and learn more about them.

Next he could go onto the reserve genin list. The thought of basically being in limbo with regards to being a ninja didn't sit well with Naruto. A genin without a team could only do D rank missions and everyone knew that those missions were a special level of hell that was reserved for pain in the ass ninjas who didn't know their place. Still, it would give him time to train further in his abilities and give him access to several resources that were unavailable to academy students. That would allow him to progress until he was able to join a team.

Finally, there was the Hunter Corps offer. If he accepted it then he would be fully 'in' the ninja force, have access to training that he wouldn't have otherwise until he was at least a Chunin, and would be steeping out from his father's shadow. However, the downside to the Hunter Corps offer were the facts that he'd be committed to them for the next two years before he could transfer out and that his missions would almost always involve death. Fitting really, Naruto morbidly thought, considering what his bloodline was like and who created it.

Each option before him had its own benefits and disadvantages. Such was the way of the world. The question, Naruto thought, wasn't which choice had the most benefits or the least disadvantages. It was which option was the best one for him and his career. After carefully looking at each form Naruto's gaze drifted to a picture on his desk of him and Koyuki. That picture reminded Naruto that he and Koyuki had promised that they would always help each other. Being reminded that she would support him no matter what, Naruto was able to make his choice and he pulled out the appropriate form.

* * *

The sun was just starting to shine as Naruto walked into the Hokage Tower. In his hand was the proper paperwork to make his choice completely legal. Due to how early it was the young Namikaze didn't encounter anyone in the halls as he walked towards the mission assignment/multi-purpose registration room. As expected the night shift operative, because one never knew when a mission might be needed, was still at his desk. Naruto walked up the semi-sleeping Chunin and said, "Excuse me."

Walking up from his dreary state the Chunin said, "Huh? Oh, hello there Respectable Heir. What can I do for you?" Naruto immediately handed over the paperwork to the ninja who started to inspect it. As he was inspecting the forms the ninja said, "Hum interesting. So you're joining the Hunter Corps? Strange, not too many young people want to join them. Still, with the options you had I guess I can understand. You sure you want me to fill this for you? I could shred this if you wanted and give you another form to go on the Genin Reserves."

Naruto quickly shot the secretary a look that told the man to just shut up and file the paperwork. Out of the three choices that he had the Hunter Corps was the best choice. Or rather, it was the choice that he could live with the best. Going back to the academy would have been hell to Naruto and the thought of being on the reserve list just didn't sit well with him. Sure Naruto didn't like the idea that every mission he would be on out of the village was guarantied to be an assassination mission. However, he could live with that.

Once the paperwork was properly filed, Naruto was handed a transcript that stated that the paperwork had been filed and told to give it to the receptionist at the Hunter Corps floor. Letting out a small grumble about bureaucratic shenanigans, Naruto took the transcript and headed towards the Hunter Corps floor. Five minutes later the young ninja was standing in front of the Hunter receptionist dealing with that stopping point of bureaucratic hell.

Finally after what seemed like hours, even though it was only about twenty minutes, Naruto had everything set to go and was told to go to the Headhunter's office. Just like everyone else who had ever heard the title of the person in charge of the Hunter Corps, Naruto let out a groan and wished that the Shodai's bad pun would be put to rest. Naruto quickly made his way down the hall and knocked on the Headhunter's door. Almost instantly he got a polite but short, "Come in."

When Naruto opened the door he saw the Headhunter Azusa Uzuki sitting behind his desk working on an assortment of documents. Azusa looked up from his paperwork and said, "You're a little early Namikaze, try to keep that up while you work under me. Now that you are in the Hunter Corps I expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner that befits a Hunter Ninja." Azusa then turned to his right and called out, "Yuugao come in here."

A few seconds latter a purple haired girl, which Naruto suspected was related to Azusa since only the Uzuki clan had that shade of hair, walked in and kneeled. Azusa then said "Yuugao, I am hereby assigning you as Namikaze's mentor. Take the boy down to the armory, get him a mask, and start his training regime. I want him on the active list in 60 days. Is that clear?"

Yuugao bowed her head and said, "That is understood Sir." She then got up; turned to Naruto, and said, "Follow me." Once they were out of the office and the door was closed Yuugao said, "I hope you weren't too put off by my uncle's manner. Azusa believes that everyone who joins the Hunter Corps is to be treated as a newbie no matter what they've done as a ninja before joining. Until you prove your worth to him, he'll only refer to you by your last name in that slightly disdainful tone of his."

Naruto gave a small smile and said, "No apologies are needed Ms. Uzuki. Actually, I prefer your Uncle's attitude as it's a lot more practical then the villagers' attitude. As long as he judges me based on my own merits I'll be happy."

Nodding her head, Yuugao calmly said, "I understand Naruto. Please, when we're not in the field call me Yuugao. I don't like standing on formalities and I also feel that people in a student/mentor relationship should be able to feel at ease with each other. Now follow me, the Hunter Corps armory isn't part of the Hokage Tower but is in one of the buildings nearby."

Once they got to the armory Yuugao said, "Now Naruto, just go over to one of the crates and pick up a blank mask. Remember, until you have at least 10 kills under your belt C rank or above you can't decorate the mask." Although most the villagers assumed that only ANBU wore painted masks, the Hunter Corps also used painted masks. Unlike the ANBU, painted hunter masks were all custom jobs designed by the hunter in question. These unique masks were a common way that people outside of the Corps referred to hunters out in the field.

After Naruto had collected a blank mask Yuugao said, "Since I'm your mentor I'm going to start from the basics Naruto. There are six classifications of missing ninja used by Konoha and most other Hidden Villages. Those six are: S, A, B, C, D, and E. S-rank missing ninjas are the most dangerous and are considered to have the power of the average Kage or someone like the Sannin. A-rank missing ninjas are considered to have the power of an average Jonin and so on down to E-rank which are runaways and dropouts of the Ninja Academy who decide to use their incomplete training to cause trouble."

"Currently you are only qualified to hunt D- and E-rank targets by yourself. As you progress in your skills you will become qualified to hunt higher ranking enemies. Also, you may at times be called upon to participate in a pack hunt. Usually pack hunts are only called when an S-rank criminal has been spotted nearby and you won't be called for any of those hunts. However, pack hunts for A- and B-rank criminals do happen when we need those criminals dead ASAP and all we have available are hunters who are only qualified for lower ranking targets."

"Now, for next 60 days or so you're going to be reporting here every day for a stick training regime. This regime will include physical training, jutsu recognition, the study of common tactics used by missing ninjas from various countries, and memorization of all hunter codes and information drop points. While you are only qualified for D- and E-rank targets, each and every hunt must be conducted with the utmost seriousness. Knowledge that a missing ninja has improved his or her skill is sadly almost always paid for in hunter blood. I don't want you or any of my acquaintances to have to be the ones who pay for that information Naruto."

* * *

Azusa looked at the report on his desk and then up at Naruto. The bearded Headhunter then said, "According to Yuugao's report, and two independent observations, you have achieved basic competency for your rank in the Corps Namikaze. However, it is time to see if your skills in the field are the same as they appear on the training ground." Azusa reached into on of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a large think manila folder. He then handed the folder to Naruto and said, "This is your first mission Namikaze, don't disappoint me."

Naruto took the folder from Azusa and said, "Yes sir." Thanks to Yuugao's mentoring Naruto knew that his boss like things to be brief and direct. Apparently the quickest way to get on Azusa's bad side was to be a 'wind bag' as Yuugao put it. Once Naruto was out of Azusa's office he headed down the hall to one of the free cubicles. Space was limited on the hunter floor of the tower so only high ranking hunters who had been in the Corps for a long time got the honor of having or even sharing an office. Everyone else had to make do with cubicles.

Finding an open cubicle, Naruto sat down and opened his mission folder. He then pulled out a small report on his target and began to read.

**Name**: Ami Uzuki

**Age**: 13

**Rank**: E possibly low D

**Place of Birth**: Konoha, Fire Country

**Reason for Extermination**: Ami Uzuki was a bully in the Ninja Academy and was kicked out of the ninja program. She ran away from the Uzuki Clan compound 3 months ago with several low level family scrolls. Since leaving Konoha Ami Uzuki has taken up the life of a mercenary for higher helping out various gangs in Fire Country. As of last week Ami Uzuki was responsible for the loss of 250,000 ryo in cash and an additional 300,000 ryo in property damage.

The report went on to state where Ami had been spotted the past three months and other information that help Naruto figure out where she might head to. When the Hunter Corps went after someone, they didn't just show a hunter the picture of a target and tell him or her to go after the target. That sort of thing was the stuff of pulp novels that had no real basis in fact. In real life the Hunter Corps would provide a hunter with all the information that was available on the hunter's target. This was not only common sense, but it also helped to cut down on hunter deaths.

After thoroughly reading all of the information in the packet, Naruto resealed the packet and headed to the receptionist's desk. He then handed the packet over to the receptionist and left to start his hunt. Unlike the other branches of the ninja forces, the Hunter Corps had a good deal of flexibility in terms of mission start times and the duration of the mission. This was because the Hunter Corps missions were very different then client assassinations or any other sort of mission that a ninja could take. Naruto figured that he head home, pack for a three week mission, put everything in order for his leaving, and then head out tomorrow morning.

* * *

Koyuki walked into Naruto's apartment using the spar key that he had given her and saw Naruto's back as he was leaning over and packing something. She then let out a polite cough to get Naruto's attention. Even though both of them knew that the other was in the room, it would be rude for one to start talking without making sure that the other was paying attention. Naruto stopped packing a moment latter and turned around to face Koyuki. In his usual friendly manner Naruto said, "Yes Koyuki, is there something I can do for you?"

While Koyuki was nodding her head she said, "Yes Naruto there is something you can do for me? You can tell me when you were planning on telling me that you had a mission." Her tone as she said this was a cross between anger and worry. She had known for over two months that eventually Naruto would be going out on a mission. However, even though Koyuki knew it was coming it didn't make today any easier for her.

Naruto gave one of his usual smiles and said, "Don't worry Koyuki everything will be fine. I was going to tell you that I got my mission just as soon as I finished packing. You just came over a little earlier then I was expecting. After all, there's no way I'd leave Konoha without talking to you first Koyuki."

This honest statement put a small smile on Koyuki's face and she said, "I know that Naruto. It's just that I'm worried about you." Koyuki's face became a little sorrowful as she continued on, "You're precious to me Naruto. Even though I know that you have enough skill and common sense to complete this mission without getting too hurt I'm afraid that something will happen to you."

Wanting to reassure Koyuki, Naruto walked over and gave her a hug. As the young Namikaze hugged her he said, "I know how you feel Koyuki. Every time you leave the village on a mission I feel the same way. Even though I know you are an extremely skilled kunoichi I always become afraid that something terrible will happen to you. That fear doesn't go away. However, over time I've learned to put my trust in you and know that you'll come back to me."

To Naruto's complete surprise Koyuki kissed him on the lips and then said, "Thank-you for telling me that Naruto. I'll let you finish packing now. Just promise me that you'll let me know as soon as possible when you'll be home. I'll make sure to prepare your second favorite meal for dinner since I'm sure you'll grab plenty of ramen while you're on your mission." This earned Koyuki a little pout from Naruto as his ramen craze was a common joke between the two.

Koyuki then left the slightly confused Naruto alone to complete his packing and headed back to her apartment. Once she was in her apartment and the front door was closed the princess ninja let out a sigh of contentment. Not only had Naruto managed to calm her fears over his first mission, but she had managed to get Naruto's first kiss. That kiss was also her first kiss, much to her teammate's great annoyance. Koyuki gently placed a few fingers on her lips and smiled. Just a little longer and then Naruto would be hers.

Still a little high on her success, the princess walked over to the corner of her apartment where she had set up a small family shrine. Koyuki then offered a little incense and said, "I hope you approve of Naruto father. He's a very sweet and kind young man who sees me as Koyuki Kazahana his friend instead of Koyuki Kazahana princess in exile of Snow Country. Out of the boys and men I've met, he is the only one I've met who I know I can trust with my heart. Naruto is also the only man I want to father my future children."

* * *

Naruto sat at a table in a small village about 30 miles away from Konoha nibbling on a bowl of ramen and was keeping an eye out for his target. According to what Naruto had been able to learn this town was Ami's 'home base'. From what Naruto had overheard from some people who knew Ami, the girl only left town for a week or so for her "delivery runs". She apparently led the people of this village to believe that she a partner in some sort of retrieval business. The last bit of useful information Naruto had managed to glean from that particular conversation was that Ami was due back in town any day now and that she usually headed over to Renji's Bar for a drink after every run.

That was why Naruto was sitting in the restaurant nibbling on his noodles under a minor genjutsu to disguise himself from any prying eyes. He was waiting for Ami to come to him instead of wasting time and energy hunting her. This particular tactic didn't work unless the hunter had a really good Intel on the target, but for Ami who hadn't bothered to hide her tracks at all it was easy. After a few minutes longer sitting there Naruto finally spotted his prey. Ami was walking along the sidewalk in a boastful manner with one hand on her sword. Just like he had heard, the runaway headed into Renji's Bar.

Knowing that he needed to move, Naruto place enough money on the table to cover the cost of his meal with a generous tip left over and got up. He then headed over to the bar and weaved his way among the crowd. Sticking to the background, Naruto carefully watched Ami as she had her drinks. This bar was too crowded to attack her in so the new hunter would have to wait until she left.

Much to Naruto's annoyance Ami spent the next hour or so in the bar getting drunk and being a pest. Finally the bartender decided that Ami had had enough to drink and she was 'escorted' out of the bar. Naruto dutifully followed Ami from the shadows and waited for the best time to strike. That time, Naruto thought, would be either when Ami was in her home or she passed out in an alley. Given how wobbly Ami was walking, Naruto figured that she was more likely to head into an alley.

Naruto's hunch quickly came true as Ami staggered into an alley and proceeded to vomit. Once Ami had finished vomiting she passed out and fell to the ground in her vomit. Quickly looking around to make sure that no one was looking in Ami's direction, Naruto hurried over Ami's passed out form. He then ripped the back of her shirt off and slammed his open hand into her back to begin draining Ami's vitality. With a cold detachment that he had learn by draining wild animals and a few condemned prisoners, Naruto watched as Ami withered and died.

After Ami was dead Naruto pulled out a tanto and cut off her head. He then picked up the severed head and forced some of the collected vitality into the head returning it to its 13 year old looks. It had been a skill that Naruto had discovered by accident about a year ago. Since the cells in a person's body continued to live for a while after a person died, Naruto had the ability to 'youthen' a recently dead person's body. When energy costs were factored in this was great deal for Naruto because he could drain his targets, present their normal heads over for identification, and still have a great deal of processed vitality left over.

Now Naruto had one last chore to do before he could head home: destroy Ami's body. If this kill had been done in the countryside disposal would have been a simple fire jutsu. However, any form of fire jutsu was too attention grabbing for disposal in the city. Even if did get rid of the body, the jutsu would have been noticed by the villagers and that would alert any nearby missing ninjas that a hunter was in the area. That could mess up someone else's hunt and that was a major taboo in the Corps.

So how was he supposed to get rid of Ami's body? Even if she had been an E-rank target, her body could still hold some clues to Uzuki clan jutsus that she stole. Speaking of stolen clan jutsus Naruto swiped Ami's keys so he could raid her apartment for those scrolls. Even if they were beginner level scrolls they needed to be returned to the Uzuki Clan. Finally Naruto figured out what to do so he could get rid of Ami. He grabbed her cooling corpse and using the Earth release: double suicide decapitation jutsu burrowed into the earth. When Naruto got about fifteen feet into the ground he let go of Ami's body and headed back to the surface.

It was the perfect idea really. Most people didn't even bother looking for the bodies of dead missing ninjas because those bodies were almost always destroyed. Also, no one would care to look for the body of E-rank 'trash'. Besides not even Ami's own mother would be able to recognize the girl's body if it was ever found which was highly unlikely. As he surfaced out of the ground Naruto thought mission accomplished.

* * *

Azusa sat at his desk looking at the scrolls that were lazily sitting on it. Those scrolls were the scrolls that his now deceased cousin had stolen. As much as Azusa didn't want to say it, he was proud of how the young Namikaze had handled that mission. It had been deliberately picked in order to see just what sort of hunter Namikaze would turn out to be. Part of Azusa had been expecting that Namikaze would have just dragged Ami back to Konoha. It happened more often than Azusa liked to admit when it came to D- and E-ranked hunts.

Since Ami was his cousin, it was very likely that anyone sent out to take care of her might try and spare her in an attempt to win his favor. Azusa had seen things like that happen all too often for his tastes. Sarutobi was a fair and just ruler, but do to his old age several of the department heads had been able to get away with small scale corruption. The corruption wasn't anything really major, just choice missions to favored workers and that sort of thing.

To Azusa's surprise and pleasure Namikaze had completed his mission and had recovered those scrolls that Ami stole. Truthfully the scrolls weren't very important since they didn't contain anything that family wanted to keep secret. Still, there recovery showed that Namikaze could think beyond just what was needed to complete his mission. That was a skill that Azusa didn't see too often even though he tried to cultivate it. After thinking about everything for a few minutes Azusa decided to called in Yuugao.

Once Yuugao walked in and was kneeling before him, Azusa said, "Rise Yuugao." As soon as she was on her feet Azusa continued on. "Your protégé returned an hour ago completing his mission. Namikaze was able to complete his mission above my previous expectations. This speaks highly on you since you are his mentor. I expect young Namikaze to continue to perform at his present level of competence."

While some people might believe that Azusa and Hiashi were having some sort of contest for most frozen leader in Konoha, Yuugao knew better. Her uncle's eyes and how he said everything showed that he was proud of her and Naruto. Saying that he expected Naruto to continue his stellar performance was the Headhunter's way of saying that he expected Naruto to make it far in the Corps as long as the boy applied himself. With a pleasant smile on her face Yuugao said, "I will tell Naruto this Sir. Good day."

Yuugao then left to go talk to Naruto leaving Azusa alone in the room. Once Azusa was alone again he opened one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out a faded photograph. There were five people in the photo: Azusa, Jiraiya, and Jiraiya's genin team. Azusa looked at the photo and stared at the image of his late sister Seto. His sister had died early in the Third Ninja War and Minato had been the one to bring her body back to the family. Actually, Minato had come back to Konoha half-dead carrying Seto's body and had refused to go to the hospital until he had delivered Seto to her family.

Before that incident Azusa had thought that Minato was a reasonable young man. In fact, he even considered the very remote possibility that Minato might be acceptable as a boyfriend for Seto. However, after that incident and after he had finished his grieving, Azusa had seen that special spark that Minato possessed marking him as a true leader. Azusa had followed and continued to follow Sarutobi out of respect and honor for the old leader. With Minato Azusa had followed out of admiration and a sense that doing anything else would be stupid somehow.

Whenever Azusa looked at the young Namikaze, he saw the boy's father staring back at him. It wasn't that the Headhunter was haunted by Minato image, but rather he saw an ember of what had made Minato so great in the young Namikaze. Azusa wanted to see that ember grow into a roaring and protective flame. In his own way Azusa was trying to help the boy by providing Namikaze with someone to impress under he own merits. It was the least he could do to try and repay Minato for returning his beloved sister to him when their teammate had left her body in enemy hands.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Trust me, if I did then that stupid opening picture for Chapter 411 wouldn't have been made.

Mimi was sitting by the fence on the Academy grounds having a picnic lunch with her two friends Ino and Hinata. When school had started up two weeks ago Mimi had been expecting to be at the top of the pecking order like she had in her year. However, things did not go like Mimi had expected. She had forgotten that her precarious position in her class's pecking order had only been achieved by years of hard work and had taken even more work to maintain. When school had started Mimi had found herself 'out in the cold' with most of the girls in the class. The fact that she was a 'reject' negated any chance of joining the in crowd that her looks could have gotten her.

Luckily for Mimi's desire for companionship, Ino and Hinata had befriended her. Hinata had never really gotten along with most of the other girls in class because she thought that they were too superficial. Also, the Hyuga heiress never liked the idea of mercilessly teasing someone for some dumb reason that many of the in crowd loved to do. Ino had originally been one of the airheads in the in crowd. However the young Yamanaka's personality had changed a lot ever since she had met Koyuki when the princess was training under her father.

In the end the trio's friendship helped all of them. Mimi got to have friends while Ino and Hinata got a glimpse of what being a kunoichi was all about. True Mimi only knew about the 'true' genin test, but that information really helped the younger girls to become even more serious about their training. So while all three became more isolated from the rest of the girls in the class they also became more and more like true kunoichis.

As the girls were eating lunch, Naruto hopped onto the fence and said with his cheerful smile, "Hello there you three." Even though team 10 had been disbanded and he was the only active ninja besides Ebisu, Naruto still looked in on Mimi. At first, Naruto had done it out of a sense of guilt because he had been unable to help Mimi protect herself during the test. However, he now dropped in on Mimi because he considered the girl to be a friend.

Mimi smiled as she looked up and said, "Hi there Naruto. So I take it that you're back from another hunt." Naruto immediately gave a single confident head nod to answer her question. She then said with big bright eyes, "So can you tell us about your mission Naruto?" To the trio's disappointment Naruto quickly shook his head causing the girls to sigh. Quickly recovering Mimi started to pout and said, "Then why are you here now during school Naruto?"

Naruto figured that he had played with the girls enough and decided to tell them why he was bothering them while they were in school. He did hang out with the girls, but it was usually school was over for the day. In a very calm and carefree manner the young hunter said, "I just wanted to remind you three that Koyuki wants you three to come over today so she can give you some more pointers."

This announcement immediately caused the girls to cheer. Koyuki might only be three years older then the girls, but the girls had a big case of hero worship for the snow princess. In Konoha there were three kunoichi besides Tsunade who were held in great esteem for their abilities as ninjas. The most infamous of this trio was Anko Mitarashi who was both respected and feared for what she head learned under Orochimaru. Next in the group was Kurenai Yuuhi, one of the best genjutsu users that could be found. Even Naruto with his bloodline helping his genjutsus considered Kurenai to be his superior. Finally the youngest and most recent member of this trio was Koyuki Kazahana.

Unlike Anko or Kurenai, Koyuki's major claim to fame was her inventiveness and creativity. While Naruto had been generous and had given Koyuki free access to the Namikaze library the princess had created almost all of the jutsus she usually used. Of all the jutsus that Koyuki had created none was better known then her Chakra Whip jutsu. Thanks to that jutsu she had once killed over 40 bandits who were threatening a client in ten seconds.

It was Hinata who spoke up and said, "Thank you for telling us this Naruto. If you meet up with Koyuki will you please tell her that we will show up?" Hinata respected and admired Koyuki more then Ino or Mimi did so she was always extremely grateful of the lessons Koyuki would give the girls. To Hinata, Koyuki was a model of how a kunoichi of 'noble' station was supposed to act. The Hyuga heiress's dream was eventually mimic a portion of the princess's calmness, pose, and skill.

With his message delivered, Naruto waved at the girls and said, "Well see you latter." He then cast a genjutsu to make himself disappear from their sight. None of the girls were the least bit surprised at Naruto's vanishing act. Naruto did it every time he talked to them when they were at school and they had come to accept it as part of the hunter's little routine. That little tradition had started because one time when Naruto was talking with the girls someone else had noticed him and the young Namikaze had gotten swamped with fans. Ever since that day Naruto would bolt from the school grounds as soon as he was spotted or as soon as he finished saying what he had come to say.

* * *

Koyuki opened her apartment door after coming home from training with the girl trio and immediately smelt cooking oil and shrimp. Figuring that anyone meaning to harm her wouldn't bother to cook dinner, Koyuki didn't get into an offensive posture. However, Koyuki did want to know who was in her apartment and while she had her suspicions she wanted to know for sure. Since she was too tired to sense who was over the princess called out, "Whose there?"

Almost immediately Koyuki heard Naruto's voice coming from the kitchen saying, "Hi there Koyuki. Hope I didn't startle you. I was just trying to make Shrimp Fried Rice for dinner as a surprise. Sadly I'm only half done."

The sheepishness in Naruto's voice as he mentioned that he wasn't finished making dinner just put a smile on Koyuki's face. She then called out, "Don't worry about it Naruto. Just give me a moment to wash up a bit and I'll help you finish making dinner." At least once a week when both of them were in the village she or Naruto would try and make dinner for the other. Interestingly enough neither one of them had been able to finish making dinner before the other arrived so the other would naturally pitch in and help finish making dinner.

Once she had washed her hands and put on an apron, Koyuki joined Naruto in the kitchen. When Koyuki entered the kitchen she quickly looked around to see what Naruto had accomplished so far. After assessing everything in the kitchen the princess started to help Naruto out. Thanks to the number of times the two of them had cooked together Koyuki was able to seamlessly and wordlessly start to help Naruto out. For the next 15 minutes the two of them worked in silence to make diner.

When dinner was almost ready Koyuki left the kitchen so she could set the dinning table. She had just finished setting the table as Naruto walked in carrying dinner. The two of them then sat down, said their thanks, and started to eat. At first they were too busy eating to talk, but once their initial hunger pains had stopped they started having a conversation. Naturally the conversation was on relatively light subjects and avoided the darker aspects of their jobs.

During dinner Koyuki had been observing Naruto and was carefully assessing his reactions to what she did. Part of Koyuki was ashamed that she treated her attempts to shift Naruto's love of her from a sibling one to that of a lover's like a mission at times. However, she was able to console herself with the fact that all people in love could be like that at times and the fact that wasn't changing herself or Naruto in her attempts. If Naruto fell for her it was because he had naturally fallen in love with her.

Luckily in Koyuki's mind, her efforts had started to pay off. Naruto almost certainly hadn't consciously realized it, but he had started to show all the signs of a person in love. After carefully considering what she had observed tonight and during the past week or so Koyuki realized that Naruto was at the point where he needed to realize what he felt towards her. Since Naruto didn't have any friends who would point it out to him and it would probably take Naruto months or years to realize what he felt on his own, Koyuki knew she would have to confront Naruto about their mutual feelings.

The idea of getting Naruto to realize what he felt made Koyuki very nervous because she wasn't sure how she should proceed. Sadly for the princess, she couldn't think of anyone she could go to for useful advice on this matter. Anko would probably suggest that she jump Naruto when their alone in the onsen. Kurenai would naturally suggest that she wait until Naruto made the first move. Mrs. Yamanaka would just offer confusing and conflicting advice before blabbing everything to the older woman's friends.

Naturally Koyuki had problems with all of the advice that she figured her closest female friends would give. Koyuki didn't mind Naruto seeing her nude, but the idea of immediately jumping to that stage in a relationship was just too much for the princess. She was also trying to move her and Naruto's relationship beyond friendship before the 6th Hokage's reign. Also, she wanted Naruto to find out how she felt not hear some wild distorted tale thanks to the grapevine.

Finally as Naruto was getting up to leave for the evening Koyuki made up her mind. The best idea that she could think of was to firmly show Naruto just how she felt leaving no wiggle room for creative interpretation. While Naruto was walking past her to get to the door he turned his head to face her and that was when she struck. Koyuki practically leapt out of her chair, wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck, and firmly kissed Naruto on the lips.

Due to Koyuki's mass and the energy she used to throw herself at Naruto, the blond haired recipient of her affections was forced to take a step backwards. Part of the reason why Naruto had to take that step instead of using his chakra to reinforce his body was because he was completely surprised by the princess's actions. After Naruto's initial surprise wore off he started to return the kiss. Koyuki then ended the kiss to say, "You're mine Naruto and I'm not letting you go."

At first Naruto was completely baffled by Koyuki's proclamation that he was hers. Luckily for the mood, the boy's brain cells started firing and connected the dots before his mouth could get started rambling. While Naruto was at a loss at what he should say to Koyuki his heart knew exactly what he should do. He leaned closer to the princess and softly returned her kiss.

* * *

Azusa sat at his desk in the Hunter Corps building and was staring at Naruto's file. Currently Azusa was in the middle of his biyearly examination of all the ninjas under his command. Ever since the young Namikaze had joined the Corps six months ago the boy had been on 14 missions. On 6 of those missions Naruto's target had been D rank while the other eight had been E rank. Overall it was a very impressive record for such a new ninja to have.

This record was impressive enough that Azusa seriously considered promoting Naruto to Chunin. Most civilians thought that ninjas could only be promoted it Chunin via the Chunin exams or to Jonin via the Jonin tests, but this was an overly simplified view of the promotion process. The heads of the Hunter Corps, the town guard, and the intelligence division had the power to promote their subordinates as long as a set amount of requirements were met. Also, there other options for promotion that required someone to have completed at least part of the Chunin Exams and Jonin Exams. If Konoha depended solely on the Chunin Exams to promote ninjas there wouldn't be enough Chunins and Jonins to keep the ninjas organized.

Now Naruto did have all the requirements for promotion, but Azusa wasn't sure if he should promote the boy. Unlike that moron Marechiyo Akimichi in the town guard who would automatically promote someone if they passed the bare minimum requirements, Azusa took promotions very seriously. Considering the fact that a single mistake on his part could result in one of his hunters being seriously maimed or killed Azusa felt that his stringent standards were justified. There was nothing in the world that the Headhunter hated more then having to tell people that their loved ones were dead. Azusa always delivered those messages personally because he felt he owed it to his hunters that died because of his mistakes.

After thoroughly considering everything Azusa decided against promoting Naruto this review period. It wasn't because of anything that the boy had or hadn't done that Azusa had denied the promotion. He just wanted to make sure that Naruto had more experience before letting the boy loose on higher ranked targets. Sure the young Namikaze was qualified to handle a C ranked target right now. However, Azusa wanted to make sure that the boy could handle things if the target was stronger then Intel had suggested or had been preparing for a hunter. It only took a single mistake for a hunter to end up dead and Azusa wanted to insure that all of his hunters could handle any problems that might come their way.

* * *

Naruto was in the main dojo of the Hunter Corps practicing his taijutsu on one of the wooden dummies. Even though Naruto preferred to take his enemies out by using genjutsu to confuse or immobilize them so he could deliver a killing blow he still kept up with the other ninja arts. Normally when Naruto practiced his taijutsu he would be completely calm, but today his face was stormy as he pounded the dummy. Everyone had received their review reposts today and Naruto was angry that he hadn't gotten a promotion.

It just didn't make any sense, why hadn't he been promoted? Naruto didn't feel that he deserved a promotion because of who he was like some more foolish people might think. Rather, he felt that his record with the hunter corps had earned him that promotion. Thanks to Yuugao Naruto all of the rules and regulations of the hunter corps so he knew that he had surpassed all of the requirements for promotion. Why hadn't he been promoted?

As Naruto was delivering a neck chop on the dummy he heard the sound of the dojo door opening. He quickly turned his head towards the door and saw Yuugao walk into the room. There was a moment of silence and then Yuugao calmly said, "I figured you'd be here Naruto." This comment completely confused Naruto and resulted in him making a funny face that almost caused Yuugao to start laughing. With a bit of mirth in her voice Yuugao continued on. "No offense Naruto, but you're easy for anyone who knows you to read. Even though you never said anything it was quite obvious that you were hoping for a promotion."

Naruto looked directly into Yuugao's eyes and said, "Why? Why didn't I receive that promotion? I passed all of the requirements, I finished all of my missions quickly and those were real missions. I got along with the other hunters and I never picked a fight or used my name to get anything. What did I do wrong that caused me to not get that promotion? Please tell me Yuugao. At the very least I deserve to know what I did wrong so that I can correct it."

Yuugao calmly looked at Naruto and said, "You didn't do anything wrong Naruto. It's just that my uncle feels that you aren't ready to become a Chunin. According to him you're still too green to become a Chunin and go after higher level missing ninjas. Even though you passed the bureaucratic minimums to become a Chunin, you aren't necessarily ready to become a Chunin."

Since Naruto was obviously still confused Yuugao decided to make her point. She unzipped her jacket and threw it to the side so that she was wearing a black t-shirt that exposed her belly. Yuugao then got into a fighting stance and said, "Fight me Naruto. Jutsus and your bloodlines are off-limits for this fight." Naruto was still confused about why Yuugao wanted to fight him here and now, but he didn't mind the chance to let of some steam.

Naruto and Yuugao taijutsu styles were speed based styles relying on quick precise blows to defeat someone and avoiding an opponent's attack for defense. However, there were some major differences in their styles. Yuugao's taijutsu was an aerial-based combat style whereas Naruto's taijutsu was ground-based. Thus when Naruto opened up with a basic jab Yuugao lept in the air and sent a kick and a punch of her own. Naturally Naruto was expecting this from his teacher and he proceeded to swerve out of the way.

With their opening warm-up out of the way Naruto and Yuugao kicked up the tempo of their fight. If someone had been watching the spar that person would have seen the two ninjas circling around each other exchanging and dodging each other's attacks. Over all the fight between the two was pretty even. This constant weaving and attacking continued on for over ten minutes without either combatant getting the upper hand. Even though Yuugao had more combat experience then Naruto it was Naruto who had more skill in taijutsu.

This balance in the fight was suddenly destroyed when Yuugao summoned two small daggers and slashed Naruto's arms. The two cuts that Yuugao created weren't deep, but they were very long. Naruto immediately started to heal his arms and he angrily called out, "What's with the knives Yuugao? This a taijutsu match!"

Yuugao immediately retorted, "Who said this was a taijutsu match? You just assumed that it was when I said that jutsus weren't allowed." The purple haired instructor sheathed her knives and then stood with her arms folded across her chest. She then said, "This is exactly why you weren't promoted Naruto, you still assume too much because you don't have enough experience. If you made an assumption like this on an enemy because of initial observations or data that you've been handed and it turns out to be a mistake you could end up dead. Remember missing ninjas write their bingo book entries with hunters' blood."

As Naruto thought about what his teacher had said Yuugao walked over and grabbed her jacket. With her jacket tucked under her arm Yuugao turned to Naruto and said, "Don't worry Naruto. I know that you can become a chunin next time the reviews come around if you just keep working for it. Also, I'm planning on requesting to take you on a C-rank hunt once and a while in the future. Since I'm rated for solo A-rank hunts it will be a since to get permission to take you on a training hunt of that rank. That should give you the experience you need to advance." With that said Yuugao turned around and walked out of the dojo.

* * *

Tatewaki Otogi had once been the rising star of Kumo and all in the village had respected him for his mighty kenjutsu. However, his great fame had generated cowardly enemies who poisoned the noble Lighting Daimyo into removing the glorious Raikage and replacing the noble leader with one of their cowardly number. These vipers had then proceeded to remove all like himself who realized what those people had been plotting. Oh how the heavens wept that a noble ninja such as he was exiled from his home and that he had to protect himself from other ninjas like he was a criminal.

Forced to flee from Lighting Country, Tatewaki had ended up in Fire Country. The very name of the country showed that it could only be connected to the pits of hell and that its people were demons wearing human flesh. These people might be demons, but at least they recognized his greatness. Why else would they send over two dozen of their most elite ninjas to try and fight him if they didn't recognize who he was? Tatewaki turned to look at a squad of the enemy ninjas and called out, "Despair for I am Tatewaki Otogi of Kumo!"

Naruto and Yuugao were up in a tree about 50 meters away from where Tatewaki was standing. With a large sweat drop behind his head Naruto turned to face Yuugao and said, "Please tell me that this is some sort of clerical mistake. How could a person as crazy as him ever become a ninja? I mean, I'm only putting a third of my ability into this genjutsu to set this guy up from a stronger multi-layer genjutsu and the fool is buying it completely. Not even my old classmate Lee would be as completely caught by this particular genjutsu as this fool and Lee was the worst in the class at detecting genjutsu."

Yuugao nervously chuckled and said, "I have to agree with you Naruto that this Otogi is rather pathetic when it comes to genjutsu. However," Yuugao paused for a moment as Tatewaki unleashed a ranged kenjutsu attack that destroyed a large nearby tree, "-just because he is poor in one area of the ninja arts does mean he is unfit to be a ninja. You just happen to be very skilled in this person's weakness and you should take this to heart. After all, somewhere out there is a ninja whose abilities make that person the perfect person to kill you."

The two hunters returned their attention to their target and watched as the man launched attack after attack at phantom enemies. With Naruto subtly manipulating the genjutsu he had cast on Tatewaki none of the attacks came remotely near where the two hunters were standing. After a few minutes of attacking phantoms Tatewaki collapsed onto the forest floor unconscious. When Naruto saw his prey collapse he jumped down, sprinted over to the missing ninja, and quickly drained the man to death. Once the man was dead Naruto removed the head and used a low level fire jutsu to destroy the body. According to the mission report Tatewaki didn't have anything that intelligence wanted to investigate so the man's body was to be destroyed. After sealing the head in a scroll Naruto turned around and said, "So Yuugao what do you think? Is there anything that I should have done differently?"

Yuugao approached Naruto, looked at the smoldering body of Tatewaki, and then looked back at Naruto. With a calm and critical tone she said, "Over all your performance was good Naruto. However, there is room for improvement. For instance, a better tactic would have been to increase the power of the genjutsu you had on the enemy and immobile him that way instead of having him tire himself out. What you did here caused a lot of collateral damage, damage that could be very costly in money and lives if this wasn't a deserted section of forest. Also, you should have held that fire jutsu for three more seconds to insure a better burn of the corpse. If the ground was wetter critical parts of the corpse could have survived with how you used that jutsu."

Naruto bowed his head slightly and said, "I understand Yuugao. On my next mission I will try to correct these mistakes."

Yuugao just smiled and said, "I know you will Naruto. You always do what you say you're going to do. Now, let's get back to Konoha so we can cash this sucker in. For your first C-rank hunt you did great. I didn't even have to step in and help you at all. Keep this up and you'll be hunting these guys on your own in no time." With that said Yuugao and Naruto headed back to Konoha.

* * *

Up in one of the rooftop onsens Koyuki and Naruto were relaxing as was their custom. Neither of them had ever thought about altering that habit and what point would that habit serve? As Koyuki had once told one of her friends who had asked, Naruto already knew what she looked like so why should she hide her body now that they were dating. While a few of her friends had been scandalized by her statement most of them understood that she looked at some things from a different point of view. Besides Koyuki thought, she might be giving Naruto a show, but she was also getting one in return.

Koyuki stopped her musings to turn and look at Naruto. She then said, "Oh Naruto I heard something interesting the other day from Anko." When the princess saw that she had Naruto's attention she continued on talking. "It seems that you're starting to cause a bit of a buzz in the other villages' intelligence sectors and among the missing ninjas. You're no big name hunter yet, but it seems your style is starting to pick up some attention. A sizable minority of lower level missing ninjas who are weak against genjutsu are getting worried that 'The Wraith' might start coming after them."

Naruto was rather surprised to hear that he already had a reputation and said, "Their calling me 'The Wraith'? Why on earth have they given me a title? I don't even have the right to decorate my mask yet! Hell, Yuugao doesn't have a title yet among the other countries and she's got ten times the kills as I do and most of her kills are higher levels then mine. Please don't tell me that someone out there is creating camp fire stories about me."

The princess giggled a little and then replied, "Naruto, your reputation isn't the result of someone' tall tails. You're building up a rep because you always get your target and the fact that you hunt in a very different style then most other hunters. Most of the other villages and missing ninjas figure you're a new chunin whose join the hunter corps. What really is making people nervous is that fact that your skills are increasing at a very fast rate. Besides, you should be grateful for the title you've gotten. It's a lot better then S&M Princess." Koyuki had received a few titles over the years for her skills but S&M Princess seemed to be the preferred title of choice for those outside the village. Just because she used a chakra whip as her main offensive weapon…

Knowing that the title was a sore spot to Koyuki Naruto walked over and started to massage Koyuki's back. According to his girlfriend Naruto was allowed to touch every inch of her body except for two areas and he respected those boundaries. As the young man was giving his girlfriend a deep muscle massage he said, "The Academy finishes up the school year next month. From what I hear from the grapevine you're going to be one of the genin instructors for this year's class. Is there any truth to this rumor dear?"

While thoroughly enjoying the massage Koyuki replied, "I'm seriously considering it love. However, I haven't fully decided one way or the other. Deadline for instructor applications is next Friday so I still have some time before I have to decide. Even so I'll most likely have a one in four chance of having my application chosen and then a one in three chance getting a team that will pull their heads together and qualify."

In a supportive tone Naruto said, "I'm perfectly fine with and will support you no matter what you choose to do." There was a pleasant pause for a moment before Naruto changed the subject again. "There's a really high chance that I'll get a promotion next month when the reviews are done this time. If I do get promoted I'll have proven that I'm strong enough to handle living at the Namikaze Clan compound. What I'm trying to say is that if I get to move into my clan house would you like to move in as well Koyuki?"

Koyuki turned around and used her grip so that Naruto was sitting in her lap. She then raised two fingers and softly put them on Naruto's lips before saying, "We have a special bond Naruto. When I move out of my apartment, it will be so I can go to the home where our future children will be raised. I may move in with you on the same day that you go to live there or I may wait a few years I don't know. However, what I do know is that on that day you will have this." As soon as Koyuki said that she gently grabbed one of Naruto's hands and carefully placed it between her legs.

Then before Naruto could get over his shock at what Koyuki had just done she pulled his hand away and gently slid him off of her lap. She then stood up, stretched her arms, got out of the onsen, and then started to dry herself. Once Koyuki had her bathrobe on she turned around and said, "Good night Naruto I'm going to bed. I hope you have pleasant dreams."


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto looked in the mirror and desperately tried not to play with his collar. There was just something about formal kimonos that really bothered him. It wasn't the fabric; his kimono, like any clan head, was made out of silk. Maybe it was just Naruto's dislike of formal functions that made wearing the outfit so difficult. Sarutobi had called for a full assembly of the clan council to meet with the daimyo of Vegetable Country. As head of the Namikaze Clan, even though Naruto wouldn't actually have control of the Namikaze clan assets for another 8 months or until he made Chunin, Naruto had to go to the meeting.

Koyuki walked in just as Naruto was about to adjust his collar again and said, "Stop that Naruto. Leave your collar alone and thing of something else."

With a slightly embarrassed grin on his face, Naruto turned to his girlfriend and replied, "But Koyuki, I hate having to wear this outfit. Why can't we just wear our standard outfits? Konoha is a ninja village after all. Would it really be so bad if we just looked the part?"

Koyuki's mirth was carried by her voice as she said, "Isn't one of the main tenets of the ninja code subterfuge?" She then smiled as Naruto sighed and continued on. "Besides Naruto, think of the benefits. You get to have me sitting next to you at the dinner. None of the other clan heads will get to show off a genuine princess hanging off their arms." To emphasize her point, Koyuki did a little twirl to let Naruto appreciate how she looked in her kimono.

Like any man in love, the sight of Koyuki in that lovely dress made Naruto forget all of his complaints about having to wear his outfit. Naruto just looked at Koyuki silently for a few minutes and then he kissed her. For a few moments, the duo just stood where they were enjoying the kiss. Then Naruto pulled back and said, "Well then, let's get this over with." Naruto offered his arm to Koyuki and the duo left Naruto's apartment.

Normally the sight of Naruto or Koyuki in formal attire would cause a big scene in Konoha. Both of them were known to prefer loose-fitting, comfortable clothing. It actually helped the duo deal with the regular villagers because it made them seem a lot closer to the villagers then the other important upper-class members of the village. However, pretty much every in Konoha knew about the arrival of the Vegetable daimyo and that the duo was part of the welcoming committee.

At first glance, it might seem strange that Konoha was so excited about Vegetable Country's daimyo coming to visit. Sure a visit from a daimyo was important, but Vegetable Country was rather small. Many of the Fire daimyo's retainers had fiefs bigger then Vegetable Country. However, Vegetable Country's importance lay in the fact that it was one of the larger countries in the Stormbreaker Expanse. The Stormbreaker Expanse was a series of small countries that lay between Fire Country and Lighting Country and part of the expanse the critical Isthmus of Raiden. Fire Country and Lighting Country were in constant competition with each other over who could get the most countries in the expanse into their political orbits.

Naruto and Koyuki weren't the first people of the welcoming committee to assemble at the gate, but they weren't the last people to arrive. There was a definite order among the assembly, even though the members of the crowd were busy talking to each other. Sarutobi was standing up front and in the center occupying the most important spot. Hiashi Hyuga, who was the first speaker of the High Council, occupied the next most important spot at Sarutobi's right. Naruto got the third most important spot at Sarutobi's left side because he was both a clan head and Minato's son. Koyuki was standing at Naruto's right side. While there wasn't a Kazahana clan on the Council, Koyuki was included because she was Naruto's guest and the fact that she was a princess.

The whole assembly quieted down when everyone saw the approach of the daimyo's caravan. Vegetable's Daimyo was riding in a decorated litter that had gold trim. Behind that litter was a second, slightly less decorated, litter. Once the two litters were carried inside Konoha, they were set down in front of the assembly. Then one of the servants opened the litter while another announced, "Presenting, the noble daimyo of Vegetable Country." There was a respectful nod from the delegation as the daimyo emerged from his litter. After the daimyo was out, the servant announced, "Presenting, the noble heir of Vegetable Country."

After the princess had stepped out of her litter, Sarutobi approached the Vegetable daimyo and said, "I am the Sandaime Hokage. On behalf of Konoha, I welcome you to our village Lord Toma of Vegetable Country."

Lord Toma smiled at Sarutobi and said, "I thank you for your hospitality Sarutobi. Let me present my daughter Princess Haruna." After Sarutobi gave the customary pleasantries about the princess, Lord Toma said, "Would it be too much trouble if you could find someone to keep an eye on my daughter? I would dearly like it if she could have some friendly company while we talk business later at dinner."

Sarutobi nodded his head and replied, "Don't worry Lord Toma. Your daughter will be taken care of." The Hokage immediately motioned to Naruto and said, "Naruto Namikaze and his companion Princess Koyuki will keep an eye your daughter for you. I am hard pressed to find two other people I would trust with my life more then these two. Rest assured your daughter will be in good hands for the duration of your visit."

Neither Naruto nor Koyuki had expected to be volunteered for guard duty. However, they could understand why Sarutobi had suggested them. They were the highest ranking in the nobility pecking order of the ninjas around Haruna's age. That meant that they were the best people to handle looking after the princess without potentially offending her if she was one of those really snobby princesses. Naruto and Koyuki briefly glanced at each other and they knew that dinner was going to be interesting.

* * *

In the dinning hall, there were two raised platforms. The higher one contained a long rectangular table where Sarutobi, Lord Toma, and most of the clan heads sat. The lower platform had several smaller tables where the clan heirs and the heads of the various departments sat. Below this platform were a dozen large tables where the other guests sat at. Naruto, Koyuki, and Haruna all sat at a single table on the clan heir level with no one else at the table.

Haruna looked at her two dinning companions with a bit of awe. It was well known among the nobles in Vegetable Country that Naruto had killed a high ranking Kumo ninja when he was only six years old. Any news that affected Fire Country or Lighting Country was given particular attention in the expanse and the Namikaze Incident definitely affected Lighting Country. As for Koyuki, well every princess and noble woman knew about her. In Haruna's mind, Koyuki and Naruto were practically characters out of a fantasy novel.

Nevertheless, Haruna didn't let Naruto and Koyuki catch on to her awe of them. Most people would automatically assume that a ninja would be able to tell when someone was masking their thoughts. It was part of the mystic that many ninjas had subtly cultivated over the decades. However, Haruna was a princess and had been taught how to hide her emotions so that they didn't hurt her during negotiations. In a pleasant manner she said, "So Namikaze, what have you been up to? From what I heard you were attending Konoha's ninja academy and then you seemed to have disappeared."

Naruto gave Haruna a friendly smile and replied, "I didn't know that I was considered worth paying attention to. But for you information, I graduated from the Academy last year. There was some trouble in my genin team because of one of my teammates shortly after the team was formed. Afterwards, there some question about what to do with me since my team was disbanded by our instructor. The Hunter Corp invited me to join them and I accepted."

This answer caused Haruna to raise an eyebrow. She could tell that this showed Naruto's potential as a ninja, even if she didn't know the particulars about how Konoha was run. Haruna then decided to bring the conversation more into her field of expertise. With a subtle glance to the head table, Haruna asked, "Naruto, Koyuki, can either of you tell me about Konoha's high council? I know it acts as a check on your Hokage in certain civilian aspects. However, I'm curious about what makes it tick."

Koyuki decided to field this one knowing how much Naruto disliked talking about politics. "Well Haruna, Konoha's council has several factions in it. Each faction is known by the plant that the faction leader has chosen as an emblem. Hiashi Hyuga's Lily Faction, which tends to be very traditional, is currently in charge of the council. The next major factor is the merchants' Clover Faction which focuses on trading interests. The Rosemary Faction is interested in finding new applications for ninjas outside of the traditional warrior and assassin roles. Finally, there is the Hemlock Faction that wants Konoha to become more militant."

Haruna nodded her head and thanked Koyuki for telling her this. She then asked, "So what's it like being a kunoichi Koyuki? I can't tell you how big of a storm you've created among the noble women at the courts I've been to."

At that point, Naruto zoned out of Koyuki and Haruna's conversation. Like any guy, Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of girl talk and figured it was better to just smile and nod. Naruto was content to just eat his steak and not have to deal with the political wheeling and dealing going on above him. That was a luxury that Naruto wouldn't have in eight months, or 10 days if he was promoted. While Naruto understood the importance of his clan's spot on the council and the need to keep on top of things there, he didn't really like it.

Koyuki really enjoyed her conversation with Haruna. It wasn't often that she could just 'be one of the girls' with someone since the group of women who accepted her as is was very small. Mostly the conversation was just between her and Haruna. At times, they were able to get Naruto to contribute, but for the most part it was just them. Slowly, Koyuki began to admire Haruna. Unlike other princesses and noble women, Haruna had a good, firm head on her shoulder.

About the time the third course was served, the princesses' conversation turned to battle tactics. Naruto joined in wholeheartedly in this conversation. Haruna was continuously impressed by the unorthodox, but likely effective plans Naruto was able to come up with after considering a situation for a few seconds. Naruto respected Haruna's understanding of battle tactics, but he didn't like her opinion on acceptable losses.

To show is point, Naruto said, "It does not matter if someone is in charge of four, four hundred, or four thousand people. The moment someone has command, that person receives a special trust from their subordinates. The subordinates believe in their commander and trust the commander to protect them and bring victory. One of the main responsibilities of any commander is to try and minimize casualties among his or her troops whenever possible. It is far better for someone to loose a battle with one's army intact than to win a battle and loose one's army. Land, money, and homes can all be rebuilt or regained in the future. The lost of good men and women, that is something that can never be replaced."

Haruna blushed slightly and replied, "I understand your point Naruto. My instructors never put it in that perspective before. When I had to study military tactics, the focus was always on winning the battle. You have given me much to think about."

Naruto smiled and said, "When one deals with death these things happen. Many people, especially when dealing with large numbers, start to see the soldiers as simple statistics. It's a copping method that many people have in order to deal with the fact that every soldier is someone's father, son, brother, or best friend. A leader has to work hard to avoid falling into that trap. Now that you're aware of the trap, I'm sure you will avoid it in the future."

* * *

The next day Naruto found himself sitting in the council chambers with all the other clan heads. Since Naruto was a genin, he was allowed to speak in the council. However, he wasn't able to vote on any council decisions. Normally Naruto would blow council meetings off, but Sarutobi had called for a full clan council. There was no way that Naruto was going to disappoint Sarutobi, even if it meant giving up a perfectly good morning to listen to a bunch of politicians.

Konoha's council room was set up like an auditorium. The Hokage and his advisors sat at a table on a raised platform facing everyone. Then there were the rows where the clan heads and their aids sat. After that there was an open space where the ordinary citizens could stand and watch the proceedings. Sarutobi looked up at the packed council chamber and he said, "Thank-you all for coming here. I know many of you are taking precious time away from training or missions so I'll be brief. As a gesture of goodwill towards Fire Country, Princess Haruna is going to be an honored guest here in Konoha for quite some time. This meeting is to find the princess proper lodging."

Instantly the heads started buzzing as they started squabbling over who would have the 'honor' of looking after princess Haruna. Personally, Naruto couldn't help feeling ashamed of many of the clan heads. The princess was collateral to insure that Lord Toma stayed loyal to Fire Country. There was a certain honor in looking after honor prisoners, but this immature arguing completely negated such honor.

Finally Naruto had enough and he shouted out, "Act your age people! We're supposed to be here to find a comfortable place for Princess Haruna to stay until the Fire daimyo feels he can trust Lord Toma or Lord Toma kicks the bucket and Princess Haruna has to take up her father's position. No offense meant to the Inuzuka clan but, you're all acting like a bunch of hungry dogs fighting over a bone."

Hiashi swiveled around to look at Naruto. The room was deathly quiet and everyone heard Hiashi speak to Naruto. "And just what would you suggest we do Naruto?" Everyone knew that the familiarity Hiashi address Naruto by wasn't out of friendship. Rather, it was Hiashi's way of telling Naruto that the he was still too young to be butting his nose into such matters. Up in the stands, Koyuki and Haruna glanced at each other before focusing on Naruto.

Not letting Hiashi's remarks get to him, Naruto quickly replied, "It seems to me that the best thing we can do is to place the princess in one of the better hotels for two weeks. During that period, we let her get to know the various clans represented here and at the end of two weeks we let her choose who she stays with. This way, we don't offend her father and we have a chance to earn her gratitude. Even a minor daimyo can withhold or contribute significant funds to the village in missions. If this plan of mine is adopted, I request that my clan assets be used to pay for her hotel room."

Many of the clan heads started nodding their heads in approval of Naruto's plan. It was a simple plan that would save a lot of arguing. The fact that Naruto had brought up the missions and had been willing to finance the princess's stay earned him even more respect. One didn't find too many fully baked ideas in the council room. Chouza Akimichi stood up and said, "I say we adopt the young Namikaze's plan." A low thunder filled the room from the rhythmic pounding of fists on desks; the traditional symbol of support of an idea.

The thunderous support of Naruto's idea did not sit well with Hiashi who saw it as a direct threat to his political position. In an attempt the regain control of the council Hiashi said, "I would like to point out to this noble council, that the results for promotion will be published in nine days. May I also point out that young Namikaze's name is one of the ninjas being considered for promotion. One doesn't need to look underneath the underneath to see what's going on."

Everyone was shocked by Naruto's next move. Instead of jumping up and renouncing those allegations, Naruto leaned back and lazily put his feet on his desk. He then pulled out a book on genjutsu that he had partially read and started to read it. One of the clan heads got over his shock and asked, "Uh young Namikaze? What are you doing?"

Naruto put down his book and cheerfully said, "Its simple sir, I'm waiting for Hiashi to grow up and start acting like the esteemed clan head that he usually is, instead of like a little kid who tries to ruin a playground game because it's not the one he wanted to play." Everyone in the council room held their breath as Naruto casually continued on. "Hiashi wants the clan heads to squabble over which clan gets the honor of watching princess Haruna because he knows that the Hyuga clan as the best shot at gaining the honor at the end of the squabble."

"However, the chances of the Hyuga clan gaining this honor are severely diminished if we let the princess choose who she stays with. While the Hyuga clan is an honorable clan, they are not known for their hospitality. As Hiashi pointed out, I currently cannot let the princess stay with the Namikaze clan because I currently am not allowed the full rights and responsibilities of being a clan head. The fact that could become a chunin, and thus a full clan head, is an inconsequential fact. Even if I made a favorable impression on the princess last night at the banquet, I seriously doubt that Princess Haruna would be willing to wait 9 days in a hotel room on the tentative possibility that she could stay at the Namikaze estate."

Many more of the clan heads pounded their desks in approval at the end of Naruto's little speech then had thundered for Chouza's call for a vote. Hiashi, and everyone watching the council meeting, knew then and there that Naruto's plan was going to be adopted by the council. As much as Hiashi detested Naruto's scathing remarks, he couldn't help respecting Naruto. The boy had definitely inherited his father's ability to handle the council.

* * *

The Namikaze estate was a rather cozy place compared to other 'noble' clan estates. Instead of being made of a patchwork of houses, the estate only had a single large three story rectangular home surrounded by several training fields. Minato had personally designed the house with several 'apartments' inside so that in the future the entire Namikaze clan could live together. It had been Minato's hope to keep his descendents together with a strong sense of family rather then a sense of loyalty to a clan.

Naruto had toured the place several times before. After all, the estate was his and he needed to know everything about the house. However, the estate seemed different this time. Usually, Naruto felt a sense of wonder whenever he visited the estate. Currently, he felt excited and nervous all at the same time. Why did the house stir such different emotions in Naruto now that he had become a Chunin then it did yesterday? It just didn't make any sense. The estate was in the exact same condition as it was yesterday. He hadn't eaten any overly spicy foods in the past twenty four hours. The weather was even pretty much the same.

Slowly, Naruto realized why he felt so different about the house. Previously, he had only acknowledged intellectually that he would one day control this estate. It had never really sunk in until now that this was where he'd live. This place and moving into it signified more then just getting a better place to stay then the apartment he had lived in for the past decade. By moving in, Naruto was in a sense taking his final steeps into adulthood. That underlying fact was what summoned these feelings of nervousness inside Naruto. Once Naruto realized this, he took a deep breath and firmly walked into the house. There was no way that he was going to let nervousness over growing up get in his way.

The inside of the house was just as well kept as the outside was thanks to D rank missions for some of the more annoying genin. According to Naruto's nose, those genin had also restocked the refrigerator like he had asked on the mission request. Good thing the new teams wouldn't start taking missions for a few more days. The chance of Koyuki's team, if they passed her test, getting one of these cleaning missions was just too embarrassing.

Naruto made a quick detour at the kitchen to grab a soda and then he headed up to the master bedroom. Once Naruto got there, he took out a small scroll from his pocket and unsealed his clothes. He spent the next few minutes putting his clothes and his various mementos in their new spots. After that was taken care of, Naruto laid on his king size bed and sighed. Now that everything was in place, the house didn't seem so imposing or awe inspiring anymore. Which was a good thing, since who would want to live in a place that intimidated them?

Just as Naruto was about to close his eyes, the doorbell chime went off. Minato had set up a series of bells in the master bedroom so that each one would go off if someone who wasn't tied to the security seals opened a window or door. Naruto wasn't too worried about whoever was at the door because the bell going off was the front door. Figuring it was the neighbors; Naruto got up and walked to the door.

When Naruto opened the front door, he found Koyuki and Haruna standing on his front porch. Koyuki gave Naruto a quick kiss and said, "Hello Naruto. Haruna and I were just walking back from shopping when we passed by. We figured it would be nice to drop in and see how you're coming with moving in." A quick glance to the girls' sides revealed a set of simple sealing scrolls that Naruto knew Koyuki always used when shopping.

Naruto politely steeped to the side and said, "Come in. I'll go put on a pot of tea while you two take off your shoes." As soon as Koyuki and Haruna were inside, Naruto left to go make the tea. After the princesses had taken off their shoes, Koyuki led Haruna to the kitchen. Just like he had said, Naruto had a pot of water on to boil and had put a variety of teas down on the table. The girls quickly selected the teas they wanted and Naruto put the rest back in the pantry. Once the tea was made, Naruto inquired, "So Koyuki, do you know who your team is yet?"

Koyuki took a sip and then replied, "Yes I found out this morning. If they don't blow it on the real exam, I'll be the proud jonin instructor of Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, and Mimi Yamano."

Haruna blinked her eyes and then said, "I know that I don't know a lot about ninjas, but I've never heard of a team made entirely out of kunoichi before Koyuki." Naruto's surprise at Koyuki's team was also evident in his eyes. There hadn't been an all kunoichi team at all in Konoha's history.

After taking another sip, Koyuki nodded her head and explain. "You're right Haruna. It is rather odd to have an all kunoichi team. My team is actually an experiment that the Hokage wants to try. You see, on most genin teams the kunoichis tend to be the weak point. Part of this is because women tend to have smaller chakra reserves then men and a lot of genin training is geared towards using stronger jutsus. The Hokage is hoping that I'll be able to train the girls to be just as effective as ninjas using jutsus and tricks that women are better suited for. My team's primary role will be recon and infiltration."

Naruto thought about what Koyuki said and he nodded his head. Then he swiftly replied, "That makes a lot of sense. Kunoichis are able to blend into the civilian population better because their generally better chakra control allows them to mask their chakra to civilian levels. Also, most guards I'm sad to say don't pay any attention to small groups of girls walking around, unless their checking out the girls. Hinata's Byakugan will help with area recon. Of course, she'll have to ware contacts and avoid activating her bloodline when in other villages. The Byakugan is just too distinctive to not be noticed."

Koyuki nodded her head and said, "I was planning on telling Hinata that after the team passes my test. With the side training I've given the girls already and Mimi's experience there's no way they'll fail. One of the reasons why Haruna and I were shopping today was I wanted to get an idea of what kinds of civilian outfits were available that could be modified to hold ninja equipment. The girls are going to need to blend in better and I figured that it would only be fair that I get them a starting outfit along with a false background to practice."

Haruna jumped in at this point and said, "Ino's just going to love the idea Koyuki."

Naruto blinked and asked, "How do you know that Ino would like the idea of dressing in a civilian disguise?"

The Vegetable princess gave Naruto a small smile and said, "That's right you haven't heard. I'm staying with the Yamanakas. They were one of the few clans that treated me like I was a friend who needed a place to stay and not as a princess who had to be watched. The Akimichis and the Naras also treated me like I was a friend, but I found the Yamanakas to be more pleasant. Mrs. Yamanaka can be a little annoying with her gossiping, but it reminds me of the gossip that I always heard from my maids."

Koyuki grinned and added her two cents. "Mrs. Yamanaka can be a much at times. However, she does have a good heart and is a lot pleasanter then the average Hyuga is any day of the week. How Hinata got to be so sweet with her family I'll never know."

The trio continued to chat about all sorts of things for the next hour. Haruna had latched on to Koyuki and Naruto as friends and the loving couple had accepted her friendship. When it was time for Koyuki and Haruna to go, Naruto said, "Thanks for coming you two." He then kissed Koyuki and continued on, "I wish we could do this again tomorrow, but I have to head out on another hunt. I'll get the info on my hunt tomorrow and hopefully be back in town by the end of the month."

Koyuki nodded her head and said, "I understand Naruto and be careful. I want you back here in one piece and full working order." Haruna blushed slightly at Koyuki's insinuation. It was just so surprising to Haruna that Koyuki, who normally acted like a proper lady off duty, could act like such a flirt around Naruto. The princess duet quickly finished up their goodbyes after that and left Naruto alone for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto was standing in front of Azusa's desk patiently waiting for the Headhunter to give him his assignment. Azusa handed Naruto a folder as soon as he was finished reading and said, "Here is your next mission Naruto. I know it seems that the target deserves a D rank rather than the C rank. However, we don't know a great deal about this target. I trust that you will remember to keep this in mind while you are on your hunt."

After bowing, Naruto replied, "Don't worry. Your niece made sure that I got the point about underestimating a situation." The blond hunter received a small glare from Azusa and then left the office. Naruto very quickly made his way to one of the cubicles and began to read the mission folder.

NAME: Jun Bakura

AGE: unknown, believed to be in his early teens

RANK: observed skills have him at D rank, potentially higher

PLACE OF BIRTH: Unknown

REASON FOR EXTERMINATION: Has been attacking warehouses and small caravans on the eastern side of the Fire Country/Tea Country boarder.

Besides the image of Jun Bakura, which Naruto noted showed Jun wearing an eye patch, there wasn't a whole lot of information on the target. In all honesty, the lack of information made Naruto nervous. Lack of information wasn't so bad for regular ninjas who did patrols, guard duties, or assault missions. However, the Hunter Corps detested and feared a lack of information. About four out of five hunter ninja deaths could be traced to bad information, so everyone in the corps had good reason to be leery about a lack of information.

Naruto gave the scant information another look over hoping to find any minuscule fact that he might have overlooked. Unfortunately, the only witnesses to Jun Bakura's crimes were civilians who barely knew the difference between a handsign and kunai. The man's rank was based on what Intel could piece together from the various eye-witness accounts and police reports filed about the crimes.

After failing to find any overlooked facts, Naruto set about planning how he was going to catch Jun. Not exactly an easy task since Jun apparently didn't have a home base, and it would be rather futile to just randomly wander in the areas of Jun's attacks. Naruto quickly pulled out an atlas and went to the map showing Jun's range of attacks. He then covered the map with a nearly see through piece of graph paper and marked down each area that Jun had hit. Unfortunately, the attacks were too uniform for Naruto to find any likely areas to search.

Naruto wasn't deterred by this and he immediately started connecting the raid sites. Suddenly a pattern appeared. The path of attacks came near a small town six times, but the town itself was never attacked. Immediately, Naruto pulled out a reference on the various cities and towns in Fire country and looked up Jun's potential base of operations. According to the reference, that particular town was a rather rough place that was pretty much run by small time crime lords. The Fire Daimyo let criminals live in that town because it was small and out of the way place. This also made it just the sort of place that a person like Jun Bakura would go to for sanctuary.

* * *

Iruka walked into his classroom and looked at his students one last time. Hopefully, he'd never see them as an academy student again. It was Iruka's dream to be the first teacher in the academy to get every single one of his students to pass the true genin exam. It probably was a pipe dream, but he could still dream. After giving the class another once over, Iruka pulled out his list of teams and began to read them off. "Team 6 is composed of Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, and Mimi Yamano. For Team 7 we have Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Hurano, and Choji Akimichi. Team 8 has Shino Aburame, Shikimaru Nara, and Sai. For the next team we have" and so on as Iruka finished naming off the teams.

Immediately there was a great deal of complaining from the guys. As one of them put it, "It's totally unfair that the real kunoichis are on a separate team while we get stuck with the pseudo kunoichis." Iruka might have been more sympathetic to the guys if it hadn't been for the headache they were causing.

There had always been a little bit of friction between the guys and the girls in the academy. Most who noticed this tension simply considered to be a result of the gender divide that most kids had at that age. Unfortunately, the juvenile battle of the sexes had taken a much more heated direction among this year's class. The cause was a casual comment from Naruto during one of his visits about most of the girls in the class. His exact words were: "What good is eye candy if its dependent on you for protection and it's supposed to be watching your back?"

Ino, Hinata, and Mimi had understood that Naruto was giving them sound advice about how it's more important for a kunoichi to worry about her skills than to worry about her looks. Most of the girls in the class either ignored Naruto's words or twisted them to suit their world view. However, most of the boys had taken Naruto's words to heart and realized that those words could just as easily apply to them if they didn't train. Needless to say, joint classes had been even more exasperating than in previous years.

As soon as the guys calmed down a bit, Iruka said, "Each team is built around a particular purpose. Some, like Team 7 and 8, are general teams meant to fulfill a wide variety of missions. Others, like Team 6, are specialized in two or three related fields in order to handle situations that a general team can't handle." Naturally, Kiba was about to make a rather rude remark. However, Mimi cut Kiba off by hitting him with a senbon needle coated in a mild paralyzing agent.

Seeing a chance to get things back on track, and let out his inner prankster at the same time, Iruka calmly said, "Try to be less noticeable next time you're putting a dog to sleep Mimi. Now then, your teachers will be here after lunch to pick you up. Try not to send any of them into the mental rehab facilities." The class was a lot quieter as they tried to deal with the shock of Mr. Strict, as they affectionately dubbed Iruka, joking.

For the most part, the new genin passed the time until their instructors arrived peacefully. There were a few snide remarks here and there by some of the popular girls about Team 6. While the members of Team 6 didn't pay attention to these comments, many of the boys directed their killing intent at the air heads making the remarks. As far as the boys were concerned, the other girls in the class had no right to talk about Team 6 like that.

Eventually, the time flew by and the instructors started to arrive. Koyuki was the first one to reach the classroom and she calmly said, "Would Team 6 please come with me." Many of the girls shot jealous glares at Team 6 for landing one of the three Ladies from Hades as their instructor. There were no vocal complaints from the other girls due to the killing intent from the guys. If it had been Kurenai or Anko the killing intent wouldn't be there since the boys would have been drooling over them. Koyuki was just as attractive as the other two members of the Ladies, but she was Naruto's girl and slobbering over someone you know is another man's girl just wasn't done. It went against the code.

The girls, glad to be able to leave, quickly got up and followed Koyuki out of the classroom. Koyuki quietly led her team to the library where she figured that they'd have some peace and quiet. As soon as they were in the library, Koyuki motioned for her students to sit down. She then gave the girls a soft smile and said, "First off, I'd like to say that I'm impressed with the progress you three made this last year at the academy and I would like to say that I'm proud to be your Jonin instructor."

"Unfortunately, I can't say that I'm to instructor just yet. As you know, there's one final test you three have to pass in order to truly be genin. My test, while different from Ebisu's test, will test you three in many of the same areas. But, don't think that my test will be any easier. In order to pass my test you three must spot a civilian couple, replace yourselves with the girlfriend, give the man a kiss without him suspecting the replacement, and make it back to the academy without being caught."

Just like Koyuki expected, all of her students were shocked by her test. Mimi was the first to over come her shock and she quickly shouted out, "What kind of test is that Koyuki? Isn't this supposed to be a test of teamwork?" Ino and Hinata quickly nodded their heads to show their support.

Koyuki gave her students a small grin and replied, "You three already have decent teamwork so it would be unfair to grade you three solely on that. Besides, you'll need you teamwork to complete this test. Iruka probably mentioned that some teams have specific purposes. The purpose of Team 6 is infiltration, assassination, and sabotage. Three ninja skills that kunoichi are uniquely suited for compared to shinobi. While it is unsavory, we often have get close some disgusting pigs in order to kill them. Luckily, genjutsu allows us to stay pure while we get close enough to our targets. This test will test you three on your teamwork, infiltration, and fortitude. Would you like to take the test now or tomorrow?"

Naturally, they younger members of Team 6 huddled together to make their decision. After a few minutes of busy discussion, the trio turned around and Hinata firmly said, "We want to get this over with, so we'll take the test now." None of them were thrilled with the idea of their first kiss being from a test and it turned their stomachs. However, they all wanted to be true kunoichis and wouldn't complain.

* * *

Haruna was sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of tea and reading the newspaper when Ino came home. Normally, Haruna wouldn't have paid much attention to this, but Ino's footsteps sounded rather annoyed. The Vegetable princess put down her paper and asked, "What's wrong Ino? You're usually not this annoyed." It was a little strange for Haruna to act like a concerned sister, but it was something that she had found herself doing more and more these days.

Ino sat down on the opposite side of the table and moodily replied, "Its Koyuki. At first I was excited that I had her as my Jonin instructor. After all, she's so good! But then, she gave us her idea of a test! Can you believe that she had my team substitute ourselves with someone's girlfriend and steal a kiss from them?"

Now that Haruna could easily believe. She then quickly asked, "So Ino. Did your team pass its test or not?"

Ino quickly replied, "Of course my team passed the test! There's no way that any of us would get sent back to the academy. We weren't about to give up just because our test was distasteful to us."

A small smile crossed Haruna's face and she said, "That's probably what Koyuki was trying to see if you would do." Haruna sighed when she saw the confused look on Ino's face and proceeded to explain. "I might not have spent as much time with Koyuki as you have Ino, but I can understand her thinking. She obviously wanted to make sure that you were prepared to do what you need to do in the future."

The blond kunoichi thought about Haruna's words and then said, "I think I understand, but something doesn't make sense. Koyuki never put any emphasis on seduction when she trained me and my teammates this past year. She pretty much stuck with chakra exercises, teamwork exercises, and a few jutsus."

Haruna shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Like I said, she wanted to make sure that you were prepared. My tutors didn't start me off with politics and advanced tactics. They started teaching me the basics. Koyuki was likely doing the same."

Ino nodded her head and gave Haruna a big smile. "Thanks for talking to me Haruna," Ino said, "It's easier talking to you about these things than it is talking to mom or dad. I guess it's less awkward since you're closer to my age and aren't a ninja. Plus, I know you won't blab everything to your friends." Ino might like to gossip from time to time, but not nearly as much as her mother. She then quietly whispered, "It almost like having a big sister."

That admission from Ino shocked Haruna. No one had ever thought of her like a sister before and Haruna just didn't know how to respond. Her world had been constantly changing ever since she had arrived in Konoha. First she gets a true friend in Koyuki. Then she was allowed to choose who she would stay with. Now, Ino admits that she thought of Haruna as a sister. It was all so confusing for the princess. After a few seconds of trying to sort it all out, Haruna said the only thing that could come to her. "Thanks Ino, I feel the same way."

After Ino left the table, Haruna started to wonder why she had said that. Then it hit her. She really did consider Ino to be her sister. How it had happened, Haruna didn't have a clue. All she knew was that somehow Ino had managed to get into her heart.

* * *

It took Naruto about a week to arrive at the godforsaken town he thought Jun Bakura might be using as a base. There were signs of street fights and killings all throughout the town. Pretty much every store, hotel, tavern, and brothel had at least one dead body outside or blood smears on the doors. Normally, a hunter ninja wouldn't have their headband showing so prominently. Naruto was wearing his headband on his forehead with a back bandana under for one reason: intimidation. Most criminals feared ninjas and thus be more willing to cooperate.

Naruto knew he needed to get information from one of the local scum and headed towards the tavern that was the most banged up. Those places tended to be the best location to find some lowlife willing to sell out another criminal for a dead dog. Naruto felt a twitch coming on when he saw that the tavern's name was the Slug's Bosom. He made a note to mention the name of the tavern in his mission report. Hopefully, Sarutobi would allow it to 'slip' out to Tsunade and the Slug Princess could show the owner her appreciation of the name.

Once in the tavern, Naruto made his way to an empty barstool and waited for the barkeeper to come around. As soon as the old barkeeper arrived, Naruto slipped the man a few hundred ryo. He also quietly added, "A young man named Jun Bakura is being a bit of a thorn in the local governor's side. Any information on the pest would be much appreciated."

The barkeeper had a scowl on his face and obviously didn't like the idea of selling out a fellow criminal to a ninja. However, the money and the subtle threat that Jun was drawing unnecessary attention the area won the barkeeper over in the end. In a gruff manner, the barkeeper spat out, "Bakura lives on Whore's Way, shows up for a day or two every 15 days or so and then heads out. Should be back tomorrow now leave."

Naruto left the tavern without saying a word. The kind of people who infested places like this weren't the sort to accept pleasantries. He quickly made his way down the street, which had earned its colorful name from all the brothels that lined it, to Jun's house. Now that Naruto knew where his target's base was all that was left was to wait for Jun to show up. The barkeeper could be stretching the truth, so Naruto had decided to stake the place. Apparently Naruto's instincts were correct because Jun came walking up the street about an hour after Naruto had arrived. Jun walked up the steps and quickly entered his house.

Naruto waited until after midnight before he made his move. Ever so silently, Naruto climbed up the steps making sure to step exactly where Jun had walked. There was always the possibility of an alarm system set up on the steps. When Naruto reached the front door he pulled out his pickpocket set and quickly picked the door lock. He then entered Jun's house and looked around for where Jun was staying.

This perfect textbook assassination was derailed when a small black cat walked down the stairs. Before Naruto could do anything, the cat let out a loud hiss and ran up the stairs. Naruto knew that Jun was almost certainly alerted to his presence now. He quickly pulled out two kunai and abandoned stealth for speed. With luck, Naruto would still be able to get Jun without the boy being fully prepared for the assault. As soon as Naruto burst through the bedroom door he cast a genjutsu over the entire room.

Unfortunately, Jun was already up and armed. The criminal also caught on to the fact that there was a genjutsu up and quickly canceled it. However, the cancellation process gave Naruto enough time to very close to Jun. If it had taken Jun a second longer, Naruto would have killed him right then and there. Sadly for Naruto, Jun was able to roll away from the kunai thrust and then jump out of the window. Naruto quickly gave chase and ran after Jun like a predator.

Jun ran out of town and muttered to himself as he briefly looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "This guy doesn't know when to quit." Although Jun meant it to be demeaning, the ease with which Naruto stayed on his tale scared the criminal. Naruto was obviously a hunter ninja and his usage of genjutsu was really scary. Jun had nearly been trapped by Naruto's genjutsus several times and had escaped each time by the skin on his nose. If he didn't do something soon, Naruto would kill him.

Without warning, Jun jumped in the air and spun around to face Naruto. While in midair, Jun popped a large purple pill into his mouth. Jun landing in front of Naruto and quickly removed his eye patch revealing a Sharingan eye. Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Sharingan wasn't supposed to exist anymore except for the single eye that Kakashi had!

A smirk appeared on Jun's face when he saw Naruto pause. He couldn't see Naruto's face because of the hunter's mask, but it was easy to figure out that Naruto was shocked. In a low voice Jun said, "I see you recognize this eye. Since you're from Konoha you must know what its powers are. After all, you leaf ninjas were so afraid of its powers that slaughtered the Uchiha Clan over it. The man who gave me this eye told me all about its secrets. There's no way you can beat me now."

The pace of battle quickly changed as Naruto went on the defensive. Naruto seriously doubted his ability to mix his genjutsu with his taijutsu effectively in this fight. It was simply smarter with the Sharingan's ability to see through genjutsu to save the energy for later.

After dogging a fireball, Naruto decided to try and figure out an attack plan. Simply waiting for Jun to drop down exhausted wasn't a reasonable answer. Naruto didn't want to use one of the few long distance combat jutsus he knew out of fear that Jun would dodge and send it right back at him. How was one to fight someone if they could mimic all of your moves?

The answer suddenly came to Naruto like a bolt of lighting. If some could, and did, mimic someone else, then the person being mimicked could trick the mimicker. Naruto immediately started a jutsu and to his joy, Jun immediately started copying the jutsu. A small grin crossed Naruto's face as he finished the last handsign and his body was racked with pain. Even though the pain, Naruto couldn't help smiling at Jun's shocked expression and agonized expression. Naruto had tricked Jun into performing a suicide jutsu. The fool should have known better than to just copy a jutsu without knowing exactly what it was.

Due to his bloodline, Naruto lived through the jutsu. Naruto immediately headed over to Jun's corpse and quickly sealed it inside a scroll. How the man had gotten a supposedly extinct Sharingan eye needed to be figured out, and the more information the corpse cutters had the better.

* * *

Asusa and Sarutobi were holding private conference in Asusa office when Naruto suddenly entered the office. Naruto pulled out his sealing scroll and said, "Sorry for interrupting you two, but there's something you both need to see." Without waiting for a reply, Naruto unsealed Jun's body and pulled the head up so that the Sharingan eye was plainly visible.

The two leaders immediately forgot about their previous conversation and stared at the Sharingan eye. Sarutobi was the first to regain his wits. "Who else knows about this?"

Naruto immediately said, "Just the three of us besides whoever gave the eye to Jun. I knew you both needed to know this so I came here strait away."

Asusa then stated, "Understandable Naruto. Reseal the corpse into the scroll and leave it here. Do not mention the Sharingan eye at all in your main report. You burnt the body and returned the head, Understood? Here, go to the black room and fill out a triple six form." Asusa had tossed Naruto the key to the secure office used for writing classified reports. Naturally, Naruto caught the key and he nodded his head. Sarutobi dismissed Naruto once he had resealed Jun's corpse.

As soon as Naruto was gone, Asusa turned to Sarutobi and said, "I'm glad that Naruto informed us of this unexpected development so swiftly. How could one of those eyes still be in existence? We burned all of the Uchiha corpses just to avoid this potential problem."

Sarutobi put his pipe in his mouth and said, "I don't know Asusa. However, this is a disturbing situation. The other villages rightly respected the Sharingan and would have done almost anything to get their hands on it. If they catch word that someone has been implanting Sharingan eyes, I don't want to think of the manhunt that will be arranged to locate whoever did this."

Asusa's eyes narrowed and he said, "Could this be the work of Orrochimaru? He always was obsessed with the Sharingan and was completely amoral in his medical research. Could he have found a way to grow a Sharingan eye?"

The old Hokage thought about it for a few minutes and then wearily said, "I honestly don't know. Is such a thing even possible? Also, if Orrochimaru could create a Sharingan eye, why would he give it to a low level ninja like this Jun Bakura? I'll take this down to research for examination. We can't do anything until we have actual facts instead of mere speculation."

Once Sarutobi had left the office, Asusa tried to figure out what he should do. This whole situation was extremely troublesome. What if there were more of these rouge Sharingan eyes out there? None of his hunters were trained to fight against the Sharingan since the Uchiha Clan was extinct. How could he get all of his hunters prepared to fight another Sharingan user without letting this news out?

* * *

Naruto had decided to just walk around the village after he had filled out all the paperwork. Everywhere Naruto went he was greeted by the villagers. The villagers' respect wasn't as grating on Naruto's nerves as it had been when he was younger. By now, Naruto had realized that they wouldn't stop being so respectful to him. However, he was at least starting to earn that respect.

Around sunset Naruto decided to go get some dinner and stopped at Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto loved Ichiraku's the most out of all the restaurants in Konoha. It was the only place that served his favorite food and treated him like a regular customer. The ramen stand was almost empty when Naruto arrived, but that didn't matter. Mr. Teuchi and Ayame were there and they were more than happy to whip up a few bowels for their number 1 customer. Dinner lasted about an hour and then Naruto went home.

Something felt wrong as Naruto approached his house. His senses were telling him that someone was inside the house. Naruto checked the front door for any signs of forced entry, but there were none. However, that didn't mean that someone couldn't have forced their way in from another entry point. Naruto carefully opened the door and slipped inside.

Once Naruto was inside, his nose picked up Koyuki's scent. Almost immediately Naruto relaxed and started removing his weapons. There was no way for anyone to mimic another person's scent; especially in a manner that could fool his or an Inuzuka's nose. Naruto then walked over to the refrigerator to pull out a cold soda and discovered that it was completely restocked. This sight brought a smile to Naruto as Koyuki had obviously been thoughtful enough to go grocery shopping for him.

After Naruto finish his soda, he chucked the can into the trash bin and decided to find Koyuki. She must have a reason why she hadn't greeted him yet and he wanted to know what it was. Naruto calmly tracked Koyuki down growing more and more suspicious as her trail lead him closer to his bedroom. When Naruto opened his bedroom door he immediately noticed Koyuki lying in the middle of his bed. The thing that really got Naruto's attention was the provocative nightie Koyuki was wearing, along with a ribbon wrapped all around and tied in a bow between her breasts.

Naruto was frozen at the sight of Koyuki. He may have seen her in a lot less many times, that that sight was so alluring. Koyuki opened her eye and smiled at the sight of Naruto standing dumbstruck in the doorway. She then softly said, "Good evening Naruto. I was wondering when you would get home. How about you unwrap your welcome home gift that I've prepared for you?"

In a dumbfounded manner, Naruto replied, "Welcome home gift?" His brain hadn't been able to finish rebooting from the slight of Koyuki just yet and so Naruto was a bit slow on the uptake.

Koyuki found Naruto's stupor amusing and let out a small chuckle. "Don't you remember dear," Koyuki said with her mirth evident in her eyes, "What I said when you asked me to stay here with you. On the day I move in you would have me as your woman instead of just as your girlfriend. My things have already been stowed in this house and I ended the lease on my apartment. From this night forward, I give my body to you Naruto to do whatever you want with it."

Naruto quickly got over his stupor and started to disrobe. He then crawled over to Koyuki and started to remove the ribbon. All of Naruto's worries disappeared as his world shrunk down to his bedroom and his beautiful, loving, princess.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto found himself waking up in a frigid, lonely plateau, instead of waking up his warm bedroom next to his lover Koyuki. It just didn't make any sense. How could he be transported out of his bedroom to this area? Logically, there was no possible way for this to be accomplished. That meant that he was under a genjutsu, and so Naruto immediately attempted to cancel the illusion.

The young genjutsu prodigy growled when he saw that nothing in his surroundings had changed. There was absolutely no way that this could be a genjutsu, since even the best illusion would have wavered a bit if he was canceling it. With that in mind, Naruto looked around to try and get his bearings. That was easier said than done since the sky was completely covered in black clouds. The cloud cover was so thick that the only light came from the numerous lighting strikes among the clouds and glowing red lines off near the horizons. Naruto thought that those lines might be rivers of lava, but he wasn't sure.

Eventually, Naruto got fed up with just wandering around the rocky plateau after a few minutes. He cupped his hands together and shouted out, "Whoever brought me here so yourself. I want answers. Why have you brought me here?"

Suddenly the temperature plunged even lower and the winds gusted behind Naruto. The young man turned around and saw a spectral form appear. Somehow, Naruto knew exactly who he was looking at. He had never met this person as far as he knew, but he instinctively recognized this entity. Naruto bowed his head and said, "Hello, Shinigami. Why have you called me here? I hope it's for a good reason because you're no disrespect intended, the last person I'd ever thought I'd see in my lifetime."

Naruto's patron god looked at the boy and let out a harsh sounding, but still good natured, laugh. The deity then replied, "You're and interesting mortal Naruto Namikaze. Most mortals would be quivering in terror by now asking me to spare their lives or pleading that they don't deserve to spend eternity in a forbidding place like this."

With a simple shrug, Naruto replied just like he was talking to Azuna or Sarutobi. "I'm a ninja. Death is a part of the deal, and I sincerely doubt that you'll resurrect me if I am dead. As for the local, sure I'd like something a little less damming, but you call the shots here. Besides, Koyuki knows exactly how I feel about her, so I have no regrets if I die."

The Shinigami smiled at that and said, "'Call no man happy until he is dead' the ancient sage once said. Fortunately for you young Namikaze, no one will be calling you happy for a long time. Of course, you could very well mess up in the future and come to an early grave. Free will can make it interesting to predict the future. Right now your body is spooled up with your mate back in the mortal world. I have called your soul here to talk to you."

Naruto nodded his head and crossed his arms across his chest. Then he said, "Thanks for telling me. Now can get to the point because I would much rather be talking with Koyuki than with you."

Personally, the Shinigami was never one for small talk and was delighted to start talking business with Naruto. "As you know from your latest mission, the Sharingan is still in the mortal world. The eight children who survived the Uchiha Clan's massacre have grown strong. They have a burning hatred for all the hidden ninja villages and especially Konoha. Thanks to a slithering abomination, they have all advanced their bloodlines to its zenith. They, and their servants, will unleash death and destruction upon the land the likes of which no mortal has seen in over a century."

A frown crossed Naruto's face as he listened to what the Shinigami was telling him. For the sounds of it these Uchiha survivors were planning to set the continent's clock back to the Warring Clan Era. In full battle mode, Naruto asked, "Why are you telling me this? All we have so far is a bandit with a transplanted Sharingan Eye. Almost no one would believe me if I give this information out. Old Sarutobi probably will believe me, but he'd never be able to act on it sense there's no solid evidence that he could point to or tactical information he could use to make a battle plan. So what good is it if I know that hell's going to break loose before it happens?"

The Shinigami immediately replied, "I didn't call you here just to give you this news Naruto. This whole mess with the Uchihas is indirectly my fault and I plan to correct it. However, I can't just appear in the mortal world and slay those devil eyed scum. The divine rules forbid such an intervention. There are ways for me indirectly intervene, but that's provided that a mortal agrees to help me."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he said, "Let me see if I've got everything that you're saying. There several ninjas out there with a grudge against my village and they're planning on plunging the whole world into war. You want to stop them since you started this whole mess, but you can't do so directly because of the rules. There is a way for you to help correct this approaching fiasco, but you need me to do your grunt work for you so you fellow gods and goddess don't catch on. All you have to do is tell me where they are and I'll kill them. There's no way I'm going to let any of my future kids grow up in a world like the Warring Clans Era."

It wasn't often that a god or goddess was lucky enough to get a client who was willing to do what needed to be done. Most of the time, mortal champions complained about their divinely appointed tasks and wanted whatever deity who gave them the task to take care of everything when the times got tough. That's why the gods had stopped appearing in the mortal world as often as they used to. Thus, the Shinigami was extremely pleased to hear Naruto just ask for directions, even though the young man would be receiving so much more.

The Shinigami gave Naruto a toothy grin and then proceeded to speak. "You won't need me to point you to your enemies; your village's intelligence will find the clues needed to point you in the proper direction. Just remember to take all missions that involve anything connected with your last kill. Now I said earlier that I could help this situation indirectly and so I shall. Currently, many of your illusions can be detected or broken by the Sharingan. I will make a small adjustment, which will have no other effect whatsoever, which will make it so that the Sharingan can't break your genjutsus nearly as easily. There is still a chance one or two of them might be able to break out, but the playing field is now level between you and them."

Naruto quickly nodded his head and replied, "Okay, I can work with this. Now, is there anything else you want to talk to me about, or can I go by to my girlfriend?" The Shinigami waved his hand sending a blast of cold air at Naruto and shooting the young ninja into the sky.

* * *

Instantly, Naruto opened his eyes and looked around. The blond ninja almost instantly let out a sigh of relief when he saw that he was back in his bedroom. Koyuki was contently sleeping to Naruto's right with beautiful form barely hidden from Naruto by the bed sheets. This serene sight calmed Naruto's nerves and allowed him to put the Shinigami's visit out of his head.

Of course, even the sight of his beloved Koyuki couldn't keep Naruto from remembering his encounter with the death god forever. A great conflict was on the horizon as the village's bloody past was coming back to haunt them. Naruto suddenly felt himself filled with desire to send Koyuki to a far away land where she could be safe from the approaching storm. However, he knew in his heart that his princess wouldn't leave willing and hide for safety. She couldn't stand the idea of being some sort of fairy princess locked away in a tower for her white samurai to come and save her.

The mere thought of Koyuki being a fairytale princess actually caused Naruto to smile. There was absolutely no way in the Elemental Countries that Koyuki would just sit around and wait to be rescued. Naruto figured that even if someone ever managed to successfully kidnap his princess, she would escape from her kidnappers by time a rescue party could be organized. Her independence and fierce determination were some of the things that Naruto loved.

Slowly Koyuki stirred from her sleep and then opened her eyes to see Naruto looking down at her. A smile crossed her face and she coyly said, "Did you enjoy last night dear?"

Naruto leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the nape of her neck. He then lifted his head to her ear and whispered, "How could I not enjoy it my princess? I'm not sure I'll ever understand why you fell in love with me, but I am grateful that you did."

Koyuki's smile grew for a few seconds as she listened to Naruto's words. Then her face hardened a bit and she said, "What's bothering you Naruto? I can see it in your eyes that something is troubling you. Please, tell me what it is." Towards the end Koyuki added a touch of the sorrowful doe-like look to wear away Naruto's defenses.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Naruto started to tell Koyuki what had happened. "The Shinigami visited me in a dream last night and warned me that some pretty bad things are looming in the future for the village. I can't talk to you about the specifics because part of it involves sensitive information that I encounter on my last mission. Just promise me that you'll steep up your training. I don't want to loose you in the upcoming conflict."

Part of Koyuki simply wanted to shrug off Naruto's concerns as mere bad dreams. Such dreams weren't uncommon given their line of work. However, something in Naruto's eye told Koyuki that this was something more than a mere nightmare. In a soft voice she said, "Don't worry Naruto. I promise I'll increase my training. Hopefully we'll be able to make it through this upcoming problem safe and sound."

Naruto wrapped his arms around Koyuki and whispered in her ear, "I hope so to my princess. I don't want to loose you. Buildings can be replaced, but I could never replace you if I lost you." The two lovers stayed wrapped in their embrace contently drawing strength and love from each other.

* * *

Hinata, Mimi, and Ino (a.k.a. Team 6 or Team Kunoichi) were sitting in the Yamanaka living room waiting for Koyuki to show up. Unlike other teams, Team Kunoichi didn't have a set training ground that it stuck to. Instead, Koyuki would have the team rotate between different training grounds so the girls had to constantly adapt to different locations. Sometimes the team didn't go to a training ground, but rather went throughout the village to practice infiltrating. Thus, they needed a regular meeting place and Ino's house was the most convenient.

The girls were doing some studying while they were waiting for their teacher. Koyuki had given all the girls the personas they were to adopt when infiltrating, and she had them read up on what they would need to know for those rolls every three days. Hinata was to play the shy bookworm and was currently reading magazine on the recent archeological finds on the Tea coast. Ino was to play the village gossip and was currently reading the tabloids for juicy scandals. Mimi was to play the fashion queen and thus had several designer catalogues out. Koyuki had simply picked several traits that the girls already had and made them act those traits out.

Around 9 o'clock, Mimi looked up from her catalog and looked at the clock. She quickly glanced at the clock and then threw her catalog on the table. This caused Hinata and Ino to give Mimi questioning looks. Mimi caught on to the looks on her teammates' face, and she said, "What's holding Koyuki up? She should have been here an hour ago. I've never seen her this late for a meeting; in fact, she's rarely late at all!"

Ino put her magazine down and rolled her eyes before replying to Mimi. "Lighten up Mimi. Koyuki will get her when she gets here. If she's willing to cut us some slack if we're delayed from time to time, then I think we should do the same. Besides, it gives us more time to study. You wouldn't believe how hard it is trying to keep which star is cheating on whom with whom strait. I can see why so many of our classmates were so weak. They were spending all their time keeping their gossip strait."

Mimi nodded her head and then said, "I get it Ino. It's just that I'm tired of waiting for Koyuki and reading this fashion magazine. Yes, I need to keep up to date enough on fashions to pass as a fashion ditz, but it gets old fast. Why can't those air heads who are hung up on the particular lace pattern that so and so designer chooses to use for a season realize that it doesn't really matter? I was able to be rehabilitated so why can't they?"

Hinata didn't look up from her journal as she answered Mimi's question. "It's quite simple Mimi. Those other girls didn't have Naruto save them from death by blue on blue combat. Of course, that wouldn't have pulled you out of bimbo land if you had been crushing on Naruto." Being around Ino, Mimi, and Koyuki had helped break Hinata out of her shell. Sure, she was still a little shy around people she didn't know, but she was quite lively around friends.

This friendly needling ended when Koyuki walked through the door wearing form fitting jeans along with a black t-shirt that showed off her belly button. Most people, including many ninjas, would have been surprised by Koyuki's outfit since there didn't appear to be any place to hide weapons. However, the genin kunoichis quickly spotted all the signs of the hidden weapons their teacher was carrying. Koyuki glanced at her students and happily said, "Alright first question, can you tell me where I've hidden all of my weapons?"

Ino quickly gave Koyuki a once over and fired off the answers for the team. "You have a kunai hidden in the soles of your sandals. Your nail extensions can be easily enhanced with charkra into claws. The two bracelets on your right wrist have a razor edge that currently dulled by a blood seal. There is a storage seal hidden in the designs on your belt buckle. That fox pin on your collar probably has a sedative or poison on the needle part of the pin. Since your hair isn't styled, I'm assuming that you have hidden a few senbon needles in your bra."

Koyuki smiled at Ino and said, "You got almost all of them. However, you forgot the knockout lipstick that I'm wearing." As soon as Koyuki said that Ino smacked her forehead for forgetting that Koyuki was wearing lipstick. The royal kunoichi always was able to prove that a kunoichi was deadly no matter the time or place.

Mimi quickly cut in and asked, "So, are we doing infiltration practice today?" After all, why else would Koyuki be wearing that outfit?

To the genins' surprise, Koyuki shook her head and replied, "No infiltration today Mimi. We're first going to get a mission and then you three are going to spar against me. You three have improved a good deal over the past three weeks and I want to see just how far you've come." That caused a chorus of groans from the girls. Koyuki's chakra whip hurt like the devil even when she had it on stun!

* * *

Naruto was walking down the street in medium sized town looking for a place to stay for the night. It would take him another two or three days to reach his newest hunts usual haunts. Thus, Naruto was looking for a place to stay for the night instead of camping out in the woods near town. One thing every ninja knew was that towns were always safer places to stay than the open fields. More sets of eyes were always better then one, even if those eyes were just the local village militia.

The young Namikaze was grateful to be back out in the field again after his last mission with Bakura. Naruto needed to get stronger if he was going to defend Konoha and while training was good, nothing beat real life experience. The Shinigami's warning scared the hunter ninja since a god wouldn't issue a warning for just anything. Naruto mentioned the warning only to Koyuki and Sarutobi, with only Sarutobi knowing exactly what the death god's warning was about. Sarutobi had commended Naruto for being so discreet with this information and advised that the two of them keep quiet on the warning so they didn't cause a panic.

Returning to the present, Naruto turned a corner and headed down one of the lesser kept alleys. This alley looked like the perfect place to find somewhere that cleaner and more secure than the slum hotels, but was more anonymous than the high class places on Main Street. Naruto had just spotted a hotel that looked like it was what he wanted when a muffled feminine shriek caught his attention.

Instantly, Naruto shot down the alley towards the source of the scream. The tone in the shriek told Naruto that something very wrong was about to occur and he planed to stop it. Naturally enough, the young rescuer found that he heading into the seedier parts town as he came closer to source of the screams. Naruto rounded one last corner and saw what was going on. There were six men holding a frightened and obviously drugged woman against a wall. What really caused the young man's blood to boil were the lecherous looks on the men's faces and the fact that they were ripping the woman's clothes off. One of the scoundrels sneered out, "Time to collect the interest on the money your mistress owes us bitch."

Like lighting, Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it at the dead beat that instantly died from the kunai impaling the back of his head. Without skipping a beat, Naruto then cast one of his most vindictive genjutsus ever. This particular illusion made the victim feel like they were in a bonfire with their skin being flayed off while being anal raped with a sword. Naruto hated rapists like any real man and wanted to give these scum a preview of hell before he sent them there. He then quickly killed the remaining thugs by cutting their throats.

Naruto immediately turned his attention to would be victim after the last thug was killed. The woman's shirt was torn so that her breasts were exposed and Naruto decided take care of that first. He quickly pulled out one of his storage scrolls and retrieved a t-shirt. If the woman was lucid, Naruto would have let her put the shirt on herself. Unfortunately, whatever drug the thugs had given the girl was making her too delirious to put on the t-shirt. So Naruto revised the replacement jutsu to swap the woman's tattered shirt with the one in his hands.

Once the woman was modest, Naruto scooped her up into his arms and raced down the alley to the police station. The woman was squirming a bit in Naruto's arms, but she kept on getting calmer and calmer. It was almost as if her delirious mind could sense that he meant her no harm. Naruto kicked open the police station door once it came into view and shouted out, "I've got a near rape victim here that needs attention now!"

The on duty police officers acted immediately. One of them came up to Naruto and said, "I'm Detective Keigo Kurusu. Please put the woman on the couch to your right and come with me. Don't worry; the lady will be attended to by one of my aids. I just want to know who you are and all the information you can tell me about the crime."

Naruto nodded his head and gently placed the woman on the couch. He then turned to Detective Kurusu and said, "I'm a Konoha ninja. Can we please conduct this interview somewhere more private?" The detective nodded his head and motioned for Naruto to follow him. Once they were in the detective's office Naruto continued on. "Here's my registration card. I am Naruto Namikaze, a chunin of Konoha. Currently, I'm on my way for a mission in another village a few days away from here. While trying to find a place to stay for the night I heard a shout of distress and went to investigate. The shouting led me to an alley where this woman had been drugged and about to be gang raped by six thugs. They were claiming that it was payment for the money her boss owed them. I killed the thugs, replaced her ripped up shirt with on of my own, and came here."

Detective Kurusu looked Naruto in the eye and then said, "I'll be honest with you Mr. Namikaze. I don't like ninjas. The various assassinations and other missions your kind do just create more headaches for police officers like me and make it difficult to keep the peace. That said I understand why you did what you did. My daughter was raped by thugs a few weeks ago and I would give practically anything to kill those bastards myself. Just keep your nose clean in this town and the two of us won't have any problems, understood?"

Naruto nodded his head grateful that the detective was willing to look the other way on this case. Police officers could make things difficult for ninjas to try and accomplish their missions if the officers wanted to. The current police/shinobi rivalry was nearly as fierce as the samurai/shinobi rivalry, with the police seeing the ninjas as law-breaking hoodlums and the ninjas seeing the police as a major source of aggravation. Personally, Naruto thought that the whole rivalry was outdated since they were both on the daimyo's side. Still, it was nice to know that Detective Kurusu wouldn't be causing him any troubles in the near future.

Just then one of the aids walked into the room and said, "Excuse me Keigo, but we've found the lady's identification papers. She's a Konoha Jonin name Shizune Saotome." The aid then turned to Naruto and politely said, "Do you know the lady sir? You both are from the same village."

With a shake of his head, Naruto replied, "I don't know her personally, only by reputation. From what I've heard, she's Tsunade Senju's apprentice and traveling companion." Naruto then turned to the detective and said, "With your permission sir, I'll like to stay overnight here to keep an eye on her. At the very least, the presence of a fellow Leaf ninja should help her calm down when she awakes. My mission can wait a day or two." The detective grudgingly agreed to let Naruto say and told him to crash on one of the couches in the lounge.

* * *

Shizune began to stir around four A.M. as the mining brigade excavating in her head forced her to wake up. She rubbed her eyes trying to make the headache stop and then froze as the events of last night reached her consciousness. The helplessness and terror that she had felt caused Tsunade's apprentice to scrunch up in a fetal position. No woman, civilian or kunoichi, could go through what Shizune had just gone through without being effected.

Naruto was woken up by Shizune's whimpering and thought about what he should do to comfort her. Part of him wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was alright. However, another part of him figured that an unknown man hugging her right now would just set her off. After a few moments, Naruto's two halves reached an agreement and he quietly said, "Don't worry. They're all dead."

Instantly Shizune whipped her head around and saw Naruto shadowy form in the dimly lighted room. Her voice was terrified as she nervously asked, "Who, who are you? Where am I?"

At the moment Naruto was cursing himself for leaving the lights off. Why wouldn't she be nervous talking to a shadowy figure after all she's been through? Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't turn on the lights since any movement on his part would just make her more frightened. So in a gentle voice, Naruto said, "I'm Naruto Namikaze, a chunin from Konoha. I found you being assaulted by those thugs and saved you. Currently, we are in the lounge of the police office that I brought you two. There's no need to panic. You're perfectly safe here and those scums are dead. I'm going to get up and turn on the light now. Don't worry; I won't come within six feet of you."

With that said Naruto got up and slowly made his way down the hall a flipped on the light switch. Once the lights were on, Naruto turned to face Shizune with his hands open. He then gave her a soft smile and said, "See? I'm an ally. Would you like to tell me about why a skilled kunoichi like yourself could have ended up in that state?"

Shizune seemed to grow small as she whispered out, "I was with Lady Tsunade at the Blowhard Bar. Tsunade was playing poker with some people she had just met. I didn't particularly like the look of those men and grabbed a glass of light beer from the bartender. After a little bit I remember feeling a little buzzed and I decided to head back to my hotel room. Everything after that is just a blur of bad images that I don't want to remember."

Naruto's face hardened as he listened to Shizune's story and thought about what the thugs had said along with what he had seen. Obviously the bartender was in league with the thugs and had slipped something into Shizune's drink. He then got up and headed towards the late night officer's station. Hopefully, Detective Kurusu would be willing to turn a blind eye to a little pyrotechnics mishap at the Blowhard Bar. Also, Naruto made a note to go visit Tsunade. The Slug Princess needed to be reminded to watch out for her apprentice.


End file.
